The Ministry Steps In
by EveBB
Summary: PostHBP At Scrimgeour's urging, Wizengamot grants Ministry custody of Harry so he can be trained to fight Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1 Scrimgeour at the Burrow

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

AN – Just reposting to correct some typographical errors.

Chapter One – Scrimgeour at the Burrow

"No way! You are not serious!" Harry shook his head vehemently. He took a few steps back as well, as if by physically separating himself from the adults in the room, his refusal would be that much more emphatic.

"Harry! Just calm down! If you just think about it for a moment, you'll realize that this makes a lot of sense," said Molly Weasley.

Harry was standing in the kitchen of the Burrow, the Weasley's home. He had been staying there for a few days so that he could attend Bill and Fleur's wedding. The wedding had taken place the day before and the newlyweds had left the previous night for their honeymoon.

With a sense of bitterness, Harry recalled how unsuspectingly he had come down to breakfast this morning. He was looking forward to a few hours of calm before setting out on his search for the horcruses with Ron and Hermione later that day. However, when he entered the kitchen, he had found a number of the members of the Order of the Phoenix waiting to speak with him. In addition to Arthur and Molly Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody were all lying in wait.

At first, Harry had thought that they were just saying goodbye, having all been in attendance at the wedding. Harry barely had time to realize that they would not all have been staying at the Burrow overnight when Arthur raised his wand and locked the kitchen door, so that no one else could join them. Molley then cast an "imperturbable" charm on the room, so that Fred and George's famous Extendable ears would not be able to hear what was being said.

Harry felt his stomach drop as the adults exchanged serious looks. Something had obviously happened and the Order wanted to speak with him privately. Had Voldemort killed someone he knew?

Harry cast searching eyes around the group. "What!" he demanded. "What's the matter?"

Arthur had obviously been appointed the spokesperson for the group, since he cleared his throat and began. "Harry, with the death of Dumbledore, and the knowledge that Snape has been spying for You Know Who, the Order of the Phoenix has been making some hard decisions." All eyes were focused intently on Harry, and he started to feel a cool prickle running down his spine.

Arthur continued. "We have to assume that Snape has told You Know Who everything he knows about the Order. This means the identities of many of its members are compromised, including the people in this room now. We are all targets."

Moody muttered, "Hell! I was a target anyway!"

Arthur ignored the interruption. "We are simply not strong enough to defeat You Know Who without some more help." Harry cast a puzzled look. What did Mr. Weasley mean?

Remus spoke up. "Just tell him, Arthur!"

"All right. All right." Arthur drew a deep breath. "We have met with Rufus Scrimgeour to discuss how we can work more closely with the Ministry of Magic. He has agreed to let Moody and Kingsley take over leadership of the Aurors." Harry cast a shocked look at Kingsley. So, Scrimgeour now knew that Kingsley worked for the Order?

Arthur, noticing Harry's look, answered the unspoken question. "It makes no sense to keep our identities secret from the Ministry when You Know Who knows who we are. Scrimgeour wasn't happy to learn that Kingsley, Tonks and I have been working for the Order. But, the Minister is willing to do anything, even overlook that Ministry employees are members of the Order, so that we can join forces and work together. Scrimgeour has agreed that the Moody and Kingsley will have complete discretion to use Ministry employees to assist us. We will meet daily with Scrimgeour to discuss strategy and coordinate efforts."

Harry interrupted. "It sounds dangerous. You're getting too close to the Minister. How can you trust him?"

Professor McGonagall spoke up with a note of irritation in her voice. "Harry, we simply have no choice. It's not a question of what we want to do, but what we _need_ to do."

Molly interjected. "And Rufus has already made overtures to show us that he can be trusted. He has promised to release Stan Shunpike from Azkaban. He told us that he knew you felt strongly that Stan was unfairly imprisoned."

"Well, finally!" said Harry.

Kingsley also spoke up. "Scrimgeour also said that he's moving Umbridge out of the Ministry. She's being given a retirement package. She won't be associated with the Ministry anymore."

Harry muttered under his breath. He knew that if he said what he was really thinking, Mrs. Weasley would scold him for his language.

Arthur continued. "So, you see, Scrimgeour is trying to institute some changes that he knows you would want."

A light dawned. "Oh, wait a minute." Harry narrowed his eyes. "Is this about my acting as a Ministry mascot? Scrimgeour approached me about this last Christmas. You remember! He tried again at Dumbledore's funeral. I told him then what I'll say now: I am not the Ministry's poster child."

The members of the Order exchanged glances again. "It's not as simple as that, Harry," started Remus.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we approached Scrimgeour because, as we said, the Order needs help. But it turns out that Scrimgeour was putting steps of his own in motion. He was planning to convene the Wizengamot to declare a state of emergency to have you placed under the protection of the Ministry of Magic," explained Remus.

"Sort of like 'protective custody' in the Muggle world," added Tonks.

Remus continued. "We all agreed that it would be best to avoid involving the Wizengamot. Harry, we want you to agree voluntarily to submit to the protection of the Ministry."

And this is where Harry lost any semblance of calm. "No way! You are not serious!" Harry shook his head vehemently. He took a few steps back as well, as if by physically separating himself from the adults in the room, his refusal would be that much more emphatic.

"Harry! Just calm down! If you just think about it for a moment, you'll realize that this makes a lot of sense," said Molly Weasley. "You can't possibly tackle You Know Who on your own. We all know that he's going to be hunting for you. The Ministry can provide you with a safe place to live – you know that your Aunt's house no longer provides you with magical protection now that you are 17. The Ministry can also provide Aurors as guards."

"Aurors aren't going to stop Voldemort!" yelled Harry.

A number of people in the room flinched at hearing the hated name. "And you are?" asked Molly sharply.

"I'm going to try!" said Harry defiantly.

Arthur raised his hand and motioned for everyone to quiet down. He turned worried eyes on Harry and said, "We know that you are not planning on returning to Hogwarts next term, Harry. When we mentioned to Ron about going to Diagon Alley to pick up your school books, he let slip that he wasn't intending to return to school. Once he said this, we of course asked him more questions and he admitted that he and Hermione were planning to follow you on some quest relating to You Know Who."

Professor McGonagall stepped forward. "Harry, we all want you to succeed in stopping You Know Who. But, we are all in this together. The Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic, the entire wizarding world! We need to give you the best chance to defeat him. And the best chance is not for a 17 year old wizard to go wandering around unprotected. We believe that the best way is for you to have the protection of as many Aurors as possible and to train you as strenuously as possible to prepare for the day when you meet the Dark Lord."

Harry tried to speak calmly. "Look, I have things to do before I meet Voldemort. Dumbledore showed me what I have to do."

Moody looked up from the kitchen table he had been staring at intently. "What things?" he asked, sharply.

Harry looked around at everyone. "I'm …I'm sorry. I can't say."

"Well, it will just have to wait for now," said Professor McGonagall briskly. "I don't think Albus would have wanted you to handle this on your own. No one is happy with the situation, Potter. But, you must make the best of it. Scrimgeour will be arriving shortly and will escort you to a safe house, maintained under the protection of Ministry Aurors."

Before Harry could object any further, he heard the whoosh of the fireplace indicating that someone had just arrived by Floo powder. He looked toward the fireplace and, sure enough, he saw Scrimgeour climbing out. Immediately after, the fireplace glowed again and another man who Harry recognized as the Auror Dawlish, stepped out of the fireplace as well. The fireplace glowed twice more in succession, and two more men who Harry did not recognize but suspected were also Aurors joined Scrimgeour. The men were big and dangerous looking. Scrimgeour and the Aurors all stared intently at Harry.

Scrimgeour stepped forward, extending his hand in greeting. Automatically, Harry took his hand and shook it briefly. Ignoring Harry's unwelcoming expression, Scrimgeour spoke in hearty tones. "Hello, Harry. I hope that you have been well. Enjoying the wedding, no doubt. Percy mentioned that his brother Bill was getting married this weekend."

Scrimgeour looked around the room and, reading the expressions on everyone's faces, seemed to conclude that Harry had already been informed of the plans being laid for his future. "I presume that you have been told that you will be placed under the protection of the Ministry of Magic, Harry. I just want to emphasize to you just how seriously we take this. You are an extraordinary young man, and we will do everything in our power to protect you."

"I'm not going with you," said Harry, firmly. "I've heard what everyone has said and I appreciate how you feel. But, I'm of age and I can make decisions for myself. I'm not going." Harry looked Scrimgeour directly in the eyes.

Scrimgeour's lips thinned and his eyes narrowed. He radiated a certain strength that made Harry secretly feel a bit nervous. When he spoke, Scrimgeour's voice was no longer hearty, but instead was low and strict and reminded Harry of Snape at his most dangerous. "Harry, I'm afraid you don't understand the situation. You are coming with me, whether you want to or not. This is no game where we listen to the whims of a 17 year old. For reasons unknown to me, or anyone else, you have been able to battle with the Dark Lord and win. You Know Who is obsessed with you, and it is our devout hope that this obsession will be his downfall. It appears that he spends more time plotting how to kill you than how to consolidate his power. We are going to take advantage of this obsession. You will be guarded night and day until you have the training necessary to have a chance in Hades of beating You Know Who. You will be trained in combat by the most skilled of our Aurors and you will be expected to spend every waking minute honing your skills. Is that clear enough?"

Harry's eyes had widened during this speech and his mouth had become dry. He knew that Scrimgeour could not legally force him to go, but the conviction in Scrimgeour's voice gave Harry pause. "You can't force me." Harry was annoyed that he didn't sound more certain.

"If you don't agree to come willingly, I will convene the Wizengamot tonight under emergency protocols. Your choice."

Arthur intervened, "Please, Harry. We are all on the same side!"

Harry thought quickly. He had to escape. They may all be well-meaning but their actions could have disastrous consequences. They would interfere with his ability to find and destroy the horcruxes. Maybe he should play along until they relaxed their guard, and then he would apparate away.

Harry forced himself to relax his stance somewhat. He dropped his eyes, as if conceding defeat. Then, he asked in a softer tone of voice, "Can I just say goodby to Ron and the others?"

Scrimgeour cast a relieved look at Arthur. "Of course, Harry." Once again, the hearty voice was back.

Harry looked at the locked door and then back at Mr. Weasley. Without needing to ask, Mr. Weasley understood and waved his wand at the door, unlocking it. Harry pulled it open and went up the stairs which led to the room he had been sharing with Ron. Behind him, he could hear the adults in the kitchen whispering furiously among themselves.

Harry wanted to find Ron, Hermione and Ginny and explain what had happened. However, he knew his time was short. He would have to trust that Ron and Hermione would realize he had gone to Godric's Hollow and that they would follow him there. Quietly, Harry went into the now-empty room that Bill had used when he was staying at the Burrow. Harry knew that there were wards around the house preventing apparition within it. That was why Scrimgeour and the others had had to arrive by Floo powder. So, Harry quickly crossed the room and opened a window at the far side. He was lucky that he was thin, as he could just squeeze through. Since the room was on the second floor, he carefully lowered himself out of the window. He hung down as far as his arms would reach, so that there would be less of a fall to the ground and then let go, landing with a thump. He felt his ankle twist a bit before he fell on his backside, but it wasn't a bad landing all things considered.

Before Harry could stand up again, he heard the door of the house open and the sound of people rushing outside. He cursed under his breath. There were obviously enchantments on the house to alert Arthur and Molly when someone was trying to get in or out. Harry snatched his wand out of his sleeve. However, his landing had been more awkward than he realized and Harry stumbled slightly as he tried to stand upright. That slight delay was enough.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand flew out of his hand and he was flung backwards, hit by the spell cast simultaneously by the three Aurors who had followed Scrimgeour out of the house into the yard. Harry shook his head to clear the blackness that was threatening to envelop him. Before he could regain his feet, he heard Scrimgeour approach.

He looked up to see the Minister staring down at him, with a strange mixture of anger and pity. "Harry, I told you what to expect. I'm really sorry that you didn't listen." And, without another word, Scrimgeour pointed his own wand at Harry and said, "Orpheo." Harry's world went dark and he knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2 The Wizengamot

_DISCLAIMER - I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

_AN – Just reposting to correct some annoying typographical errors._

Chapter Two – The Wizengamot

Harry woke up a few hours later. He lay still on a soft bed, while he slowly reviewed his surroundings. He was in a small bedroom, furnished simply with just the bed on which he was laying, a chest of drawers next to the bed on which his glasses were placed, and a mirror in the corner. The low glow of the lighting cast a shadow over a door that was slightly ajar. Harry quietly got up and peered around the corner of the door. He quickly lost interest when he saw that it was a small bathroom.

Looking around the bedroom again, he noticed the door on the other side. Ah! Obviously, the way out. He crossed the room quietly and slowly turned the doorknob. Locked!

Harry reached inside the sleeve of his shirt for his wand. He felt an empty sensation in his stomach. They had taken his wand!

Before Harry could spend much time worrying, the door opened. He found himself staring into Scrimgeour's eyes. Ranged behind the Minister were the three Aurors who had brought Harry from the Burrow.

Harry glared at Scrimgeour and waited. The older man cast a stern look at Harry and said, "I hope you are feeling well, Harry. We have an audience before the Wizengamot in fifteen minutes." Scrimgeour turned to leave.

"Please, don't do this," burst from Harry's lips.

At Harry's words, Scrimgeour turned around. Once again, his face held that strange mix of anger and pity. "Will you agree to stay here, voluntarily, Harry? I'd prefer not to involve the Wizengamot. I'd like your presence here to be a secret. The more people who know, the more dangerous."

Harry cried out desperately, "I can't stay here! I have things to do…" At Scrimgeour's questioning look, Harry finished lamely, "You know…I have to track down Voldemort."

Scrimgeour's face hardened. "And so you will, Harry, when the time is right." Without another word, he left the room.

One of the Aurors motioned for Harry to come and Harry left the room, surrounded by the men.

They led him through dark corridors that twisted in a maze. Harry quickly lost track of the turns he had made and knew he would be unable to find his way back to the room on his own. After walking a while in silence, they climbed some steep, stone stairs. Finally, Harry recognized where he was. He was in the corridor leading to the chamber where he had once before been called before the Wizengamot. So, he was being held at the Ministry of Magic itself!

One of the Aurors pushed open the door to the chamber and Harry slowly advanced. As before, he recognized the courtroom where he had seen, in Dumbledore's pensieve, the Death Eater trials and where he, himself, had been called to answer charges of illegal underage magic.

The murmur of voices that had filled the room before Harry entered ceased immediately upon his entrance. All eyes turned to him and Harry felt his face flush. Without meeting anyone's eyes, knowing what was expected of him, he approached the chair in the center of the room and gingerly sat down. He breathed a sigh of relief when the chains on the arms of the chair stayed still. Slowly, Harry looked around. He saw a few familiar faces, including Griselda Marchbanks, the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Last year, she had been one of the professors who had tested Harry for his fifth year OWLS. Scrimgeour was seated next to her.

Harry knew that the previous head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, had been killed by Voldemort. Spreading death and destruction everywhere! Harry felt impatient to be searching for the horcruxes. Instead, he was caught up in this crazy scheme of Scrimgeour's. The Wizengamot will stop it, Harry told himself. But, he couldn't stop the tension and nervousness from spreading through his body.

Scrimgeour stood up and addressed the Wizengamot. "Witches and wizards. I thank you all for attending this emergency meeting. Once I explain the situation, I am sure that you will understand and agree with my decision to act so quickly.

"We are at a crossroads in our fight with the forces of Darkness. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is becoming more and more powerful and I won't pretend that I am not worried about our ability to defeat him. But, we have one weapon in our arsenal that gives me hope. Harry Potter!" Scrimgeour gestured grandly toward Harry, who glared at him again.

"Yes. The Boy-Who-Lived! The Chosen One! We've all heard the rumors. Are they true? I submit to you all here that we can make them true! We can use Harry Potter to defeat You Know Who! When You Know Who comes after Harry (and he will), let him find us waiting. And, let him face not a boy, but a warrior!" Harry looked around at the expressions on the faces of the Wizengamot. Everyone was listening to Scrimgeour so intently, it seemed as if they were mesmerized. Fear was palpable.

Scrimgeour continued. "I have brought Harry here because I have learned that he does not intend to return to Hogwarts. He intends to fight You Know Who on his own." Gasps and rumblings from the crowd. "I will not keep my purpose from you any longer. I want the Wizengamot to rule that Harry Potter be remanded into the custody of the Ministry. I want him accorded around-the-clock protection as he is trained to become an Auror – given the skills to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

More rumblings. Madam Marchbanks hit her gavel on the table. "Order! Order!" She leaned forward and said to Scrimgeour, "What you are proposing is highly irregular."

Scrimgeour responded, "These are irregular times!"

She turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter? What have you to say to this?"

Harry took a deep breath and stood. "I am a legal adult in the wizarding world. I have the right to make decisions for myself. I can take care of myself. Where was the Ministry when I was one year old and Voldemort killed my parents!" Shudders and gasps from the audience as Harry said Voldemort's name. "Where were they when I was eleven and stopped Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone or when I was twelve and I stopped his memory from helping him be reborn! Or, when I was fourteen and escaped from Voldemort after he killed Cedric Diggory! It was the Ministry that tried to kill me by sending dementors to Little Whinging. And, when I defended myself and my cousin, it was the Ministry that sought to have me expelled! The Ministry has never been my protector."

Harry drew himself up proudly and took a deep breath. "I have battled Voldemort before and I will defeat him. But, I can do this myself!"

Scrimgeour stood up again and Harry sat back down. He hoped no one noticed, but his legs were a little wobbly. Scrimgeour's voice rang through the chamber. "I cannot answer for the actions of the previous administration. However, I can assure you that protecting Harry is our number one priority. I must impress upon everyone here what is at stake. The very future of the wizarding world! Harry may well be our only hope. This is a war. Think of him as a soldier, to be conscripted into the army. That soldier takes orders from his superior officers – men and women who have been trained in battle.

"Sometimes the good of the many outweighs the wishes of the one. Harry is a weapon – whether he wants to be or not! Whether we want him to be or not! Now, let us take this weapon and refine it! Hone it! Reinforce it! Make it razor sharp and point it directly at You Know Who's heart!"

Harry's stomach was an empty pit. He could feel the power of Scrimgeour's words swaying the audience.

Scrimgeour cast a blazing look in Harry's direction. "Why is Harry Potter here, ladies and gentlemen?" He spread his arms wide in question. "He did not wish to follow me but he was overcome by myself and three Aurors and we brought him here. If Harry cannot escape from us, how can he hope to defeat the Dark Lord?" Harry saw some slight nods from some of the audience.

"While Dumbledore was alive, we all deferred to him to keep the boy safe and to train him. I admit that I have a hard time understanding why Dumbledore allowed the boy to waste so much time, playing Quidditch and taking unnecessary subjects. Even allowed him to be Captain of the Quidditch team! We can only imagine how many hours Harry spent practicing to catch the golden snitch instead of practicing how to cast the curse to kill the Dark Lord! I would take this one step further. Why did Dumbledore allow Harry to waste critical time learning subjects such as Divination and History of Magic? These may be useful and valuable subjects in general – but not for Harry! Is he going to defeat You Know Who by reciting the year of the Goblin Rebellion!

"I believe that Harry should have been focusing on Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions – those subjects most likely to help in this fight. He should have been studying with private tutors, night and day, as I suggest we do now – making up for as much lost time as we can, as quickly as we can. Dumbledore is gone and we cannot just sit back and hope all will turn out well. We must take action to ensure our success!"

Madam Marchbanks took control of the proceedings again. "Thank you, Mr. Minister. I believe that the Wizengamot understands the positions of both Minister Scrimgeour and Harry Potter. It is now time to vote."

Harry did not think taking the vote at this point boded well. Scrimgeour had riled them all up and Harry didn't have the words to counter the Minister's arguments. Resentfully, Harry thought that, instead of History of Magic and Divination, he should have been studying debate tactics! But, who could have guessed that he would have to defend himself against the political powers of his world? Harry wished desperately for Dumbledore to walk through the door, as he had done in Harry's last trial. But, no one appeared and Madam Marchbanks called for the vote.

"All in favor of remanding custody of Harry Potter to the Ministry, raise their hands."

At first, Harry thought he was in a bad dream. He blinked a few times but the image stayed the same. There was a sea of hands in the air. "All in favor of allowing Mr. Potter to go freely forth without Ministry oversight, raise their hands." No one. The verdict was unanimous. Custody to the Ministry!

Scrimgeour looked grimly satisfied. Harry jumped up from his seat and looked wildly around as if hoping someone would appear who could change what was happening. He shouted, "No! No! You can't do this!"

Madam Marchbanks ignored the outburst. "Harry Potter, you are hereby remanded into the custody of the Minister of Magic, to be trained as an Auror in anticipation of your battle with the Dark Lord."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You can't force me to listen to him! I won't do anything he wants!"

There was silence in the chamber. Harry wanted to smack himself. Why had he said that? He should have kept his mouth shut and pretended to give in!

Scrimgeour addressed the Wizengamot again. "I thank you for the vote of confidence, ladies and gentlemen. However, in order for this to be effective, we need Mr. Potter's cooperation in his training. As you have heard, he is reluctant to submit to our guidance. He has all of the impetuousness of the young. We need to harness that energy. We need to take his strength, loyalty, and resourcefulness and turn them to our benefit. I ask the Wizengamot to perform with me the Obedius charm." Mouths dropped open and muttering filled the room.

Scrimgeour saw Harry's scared look, and explained, calmly. "The Obedius Charm is usually used to force an unruly child to listen to a parent. Only a parent or guardian can perform the charm. Unlike the Imperius Curse, where the individual has no choice but to obey, the Obedius charm makes the child want to please the parent. So, the child still has the choice to obey or not, but will feel sick when he does not obey and feels elation when he does what the parent wants. Sort of like the Muggle concept of a time out chair for bad behavior and a gold sticker for good. As your guardian by order of this Court, I can perform the charm myself (without even needing to ask permission). However, I have no confidence that the charm will carry sufficient strength against you, Harry. I know that you are one of the few people who cannot even be compelled by the Imperius Curse."

Scrimgeour turned from Harry and faced the Court again. "But, while this Court is in session, every member of this Wizengamot has the authority of a guardian. We all have the magical ability to perform this charm today, and I ask that we collectively place the Obedius charm upon Mr. Potter. To give it maximum strength, I ask that the charm be specifically tailored to have him wish to obey us by training as hard as he is physically capable of doing."

Before Harry could say anything, he felt the chains of the chair snake around his arms and pull him back into the chair, binding him to it. He yelled and struggled against them. "Get off! Get off! Let me go!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Madam Marchbanks nod her head. One of the Aurors who had brought Harry to the courtroom stepped forward and waved his wand at Harry. "Silencio!" While Harry still pulled at the chains binding him, he was no longer able to speak. Panic seized him.

Madam Marchbanks leaned forward to speak with Harry. "Please, Mr. Potter. Calm, yourself. No one here wishes to hurt you in any way. Quite the contrary! We ask that you sit still as we decide what is best." Although she spoke in a kind voice, it was nevertheless very firm, and Harry knew that no one was prepared to release him.

Madam Marchbanks raised her voice, to be heard clearly throughout the chamber. "All in favor of casting the Obedius Charm?" Every hand raised. Unanimous!

"Then, on the count of three." Every witch and wizard pulled his or her wand out from under the robes and all wands pointed at Harry. He pulled harder at the chains and panted in fear. "One. Two. Three. Obedio!" A blast of yellow light issued from every wand and hit Harry from all angles.

At first, the sheer force of so many charms cast simultaneously slammed Harry back into the chair, and rattled every bone in his body. He felt as if he had been shaken furiously by Uncle Vernon. Once he had caught his breath, however, he felt a strange sensation.

A feeling of eagerness flooded through him. He was still angry with Scrimgeour for forcing him to stay at the Ministry of Magic but he couldn't deny that he was itching to start practicing new spells. He wanted to study as hard as he could to learn every spell that he could to bring down Voldemort. He couldn't wait to get started. He wondered whether they would be willing to start training him as soon as this court session was over. Just wait! He would learn so quickly and be so powerful, Scrimgeour would be very proud of him. An excited feeling filled Harry as he imagined Scrimgeour's praise.

Harry realized that the chains binding him to the chair had been released. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. His voice was back! He stood up shakily and faced Scrimgeour and Madam Marchbanks. Madam Marchbanks looked at him quizzically and asked, "Mr. Potter?"

Harry responded to her unspoken question. "Er…I…I will work very hard to learn everything I can to defeat Voldemort. I promise I'll work night and day."

Scrimgeour had a fiercely satisfied expression on his face. Madam Marchbanks spoke again. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. Our hopes are with you and we wish you all the best."

Seeing that Madam Marchbanks was preparing to close the proceedings, Scrimgeour spoke again. "I beg the indulgence of the Court for one more matter. It is critical that You Know Who does not know where Mr. Potter is. I ask that every member of this Wizengamot swear not to divulge this information."

Madam Marchbanks nodded quickly. "Of course." She waved her wand and a soft silver mist covered the chamber. "Everyone, please swear that you agree that the proceedings of this Court today shall be kept in confidence and to keep the whereabouts of Mr. Potter a secret unless necessary to reveal this information for his safety or the safety of others. You understand that your breach of this oath will result in criminal prosecution." The chamber rang with the words "I agree", as all witches and wizards present swore to the oath. "Of course, Minister Scrimgeour shall have discretion to disclose such information as he deems appropriate." Scrimgeour inclined his head in acknowledgement of her words.

"Now, if that is all," said Madam Marchbanks, "I believe that this session of the Wizengamot may be brought to a close. Thank you to everyone for attending."

She rose, and at this signal the other witches and wizards rose from their seats and began filing out of the courtroom. Soon, only Scrimgeour and the three Aurors remained with Harry. Scrimgeour approached Harry somewhat tentatively. Harry felt the oddest mixture of anger and eagerness. Giving in to the compulsion, he said, "Well, how soon can we start? I'd like to start practicing right now!"

Scrimgeour smiled widely. "Then let's get to it!" he agreed. Surrounded again by Aurors, Harry left the courtroom to start his training.


	3. Chapter 3 Horcruxes

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

_AN – Just reposting to correct some typographical errors._

Chapter Three – Horcruxes

Ron and Hermione came down to breakfast the day that Harry had been taken to the Ministry of Magic. Ron looked around the kitchen in surprise. "I wonder where Harry is? He wasn't in our room and I thought he must have come down earlier to breakfast."

Hermione went to the cupboard to pull out some bowls. "He might have stepped outside for some air."

Molly and Arthur came in to the kitchen from the yard. They had just been saying goodbye to the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, who had apparated away. Both of their faces were drawn with worry.

Ron noticed and asked sharply, "Mom! Dad! Is everything all right? Have you seen, Harry?"

Both looked a bit startled to find Ron and Hermione in the kitchen. Quickly pasting a false smile on her face, Mrs. Weasley said. "Of course, everything's fine. I'm just a little melancholy thinking about my son getting married. Makes me feel my years, I can tell you! Anyway, Harry was down here earlier. He told us to tell you goodbye for him." Molly bustled over to the sink and waved her wand to start washing dishes. She deliberately created lots of suds and steam to hide her face as she washed.

Hermione asked in puzzlement, "Harry said goodbye?"

"Yes, dear." Molly coughed nervously and continued. "He said to tell you that he'll meet you at Hogwarts in September. After speaking with some of the Order who were here this morning, Harry said he has changed his mind and thinks that he will finish his last year. Until then, he's going to stay for a few days with Moody before heading out to Diagon Alley to collect his school things for next term."

"This is so strange," said Hermione. "I don't understand why Harry left without speaking with us."

Arthur piped up. "Moody was in a bit of a rush and Harry wanted to go with him. We promised Harry we would tell you. That's all."

Ron was annoyed. "I wish he wouldn't have taken off so quickly. What does he want us to do?"

"Nothing!" said Molly, sharply. "He doesn't want you to do anything!"

"All right, Mom!" said Ron, with exasperation. "I wish you wouldn't worry so much. We won't do anything without Harry. I guess we'll meet up with him again in Diagon Alley and at school for sure."

Ron and Hermione finished their breakfast in silence and then went out in the yard to speak in private. Hermione cast a quick look back at the Burrow to make sure no one was listening. "Don't you think that this is odd? I don't believe Harry would have just left without telling us."

Ron leaned down and scooped up some rocks on the ground. He idly threw them one by one as far as he could. "I don't know. I think Harry is worried about putting us in danger. I don't think he's returning to Hogwarts, though. I bet he's going to Godric's Hollow without us."

"The Order wouldn't have let him go alone!" said Hermione, appalled.

"He wouldn't have told them that's what he was intending to do. I bet he went with Moody and is going to give him the slip. You mark my words. Harry's on his way to Godric's Hollow without us."

Hermione's voice was barely above a whisper as she breathed in fear, "What are we going to do?"

Ron turned to Hermione and his look burned through her. "I say we follow him. He's my friend and this battle is my battle too! He's going to need all the help he can get. I say we do what we were planning to do before. Let's go to Godric's Hollow!"

Hermione looked at Ron silently for a minute and then nodded resolutely. "You're right! He can't protect us from V..V…Voldemort. No one can. We have to fight, too."

Ron looked around again to make sure that no one was watching. "Let's go now before anyone thinks to stop us. On the count of three, we'll apparate there."

At Hermione's nod, Ron counted, "One. Two. Three." And the two apparated away.

The home where Harry's parents were killed had been reduced to rubble. Magically concealed from Muggle eyes, the site of Harry Potter's defeat of the Dark Lord sixteen years ago had been largely untouched, except by time and the elements. Ron and Hermione shivered as they slowly approached the burned down house.

"It gives one the creeps, doesn't it?" said Ron.

Hermione agreed. "There is still such a presence of evil here. I can't believe that it has remained like this for so many years."

"Probably no one wanted to come here. I don't blame them."

Carefully, the two stepped into the debris of the house. "What are we looking for?" asked Ron.

"I don't know. I guess we'll know it if we see it." Hermione said doubtfully. "I wonder where Harry is?"

Ron ventured a guess. "He's probably still with Moody, waiting to get away from him."

Silence then reigned as the two focused on searching through the house. They picked their way from room to room, moving rubble aside with their hands where possible and using their wands on the larger objects. When they entered a room that looked like it was a child's bedroom, the two exchanged fearful looks. "Do you think this is where…?" Ron whispered. He didn't complete his sentence. Hermione gave a short nod.

They both took a deep breath. Ron gulped. Carefully they looked through the rubble in the room. All at once, Ron let out a sharp gasp. "What!" whispered Hermione sharply. (There was something about this room that made it seem more appropriate to speak in whispers.) Ron didn't even speak. He merely pointed to a small beautiful cup. It was gold with engraved handles. It was remarkable for its beauty and the fact that it was unbroken. What was such an object doing here?

Ron and Hermione gathered around the object, neither touching it. "Do you think this is Helga Hufflepuff's cup? You know, the one that Harry mentioned seeing in the pensieve? The one Tom Riddle stole?" Ron whispered.

"It must be," agreed Hermione. "See the badger insignia?" She pointed to the engraving on the handles. Hermione raised scared eyes to Ron. "I don't think we should touch it," she warned.

Ron agreed quickly. "But, what are we going to do with it?"

Hermione thought for a minute and then she whispered a quick incantation. A fallen brick was transformed into a box and she levitated the cup inside the box, shutting its lid. Gingerly, she picked up the box and said, "All right. I think we can leave now. I doubt that there's anything else here to find."

"Shouldn't we stay until Harry gets here?"

"We don't know how long Harry will be. Besides, I just had a thought. Maybe we should check whether he's gone to the headquarters of the Order. Your mother seemed a bit strange when she was telling us that Harry had left with Moody. If there was something Harry needed to do at headquarters, she wouldn't have wanted us to go. And, Harry could have gone with Moody for protection."

"All right. Let's try there. But, we need to be very careful. While You Know Who won't be able to get into the headquarters, Snape certainly can and I don't fancy meeting him there! It wouldn't surprise me to find him lying in wait for Harry."

With this possibility in their minds, they were both very on edge when they apparated in front of 12 Grimmauld Place. They quietly opened the door of the house and tiptoed through its rooms. They did not dare to call out for Harry. They walked through the house with their wands out. The silence throughout was eerie. Ron's breath was coming in soft gasps and Hermione's wand was shaking.

As they were about to leave one of the parlor rooms, Hermione's eyes fell upon the desk she had helped try to "clean" two summers ago. As she saw the locket that no one had been able to open, she drew a deep, sudden breath. Silently, she motioned Ron over to the desk and pointed to the gold locket. At first, he looked at Hermione with a puzzled expression. What did she mean? Suddenly, Ron's eyes flew wide in understanding! The locket that Harry and Dumbledore had tried to retrieve from the cave! This might be the real one!

Hermione whispered, "Alohomora" and the box she had made to hold the cup opened. Ron's "Wingardium Leviosa" charm levitated the locket, so that it flew through the air to join the cup. Hermione closed the box again.

It took only a few more minutes to search the rest of the house. When it seemed clear that no one was there, they held a whispered conversation. Neither wanted to stay and they both were only too happy to agree with each other that the best course was to return to the Burrow for the time being. So, they left 12 Grimmauld Place with deep sighs of relief and, from outside the front door, apparated back to the yard of the Burrow.

Although a number of hours had passed, their absence had not occasioned any great concern. Hermione just said that she and Ron had taken a long walk in response to an offhand question regarding where they had been. No one seemed to question this.

Ron and Hermione agreed to bury the box with the cup and locket in the far corner of the yard. (Neither wanted to bring the box into the house.) Ron stood back after having buried the box. He looked down at the newly turned earth. "I wish we could tell Harry that we think we may have two of the horcruxes. I don't want him to waste time looking for them."

Hermione nodded. "And, we have to figure out how to destroy them! I wish we could ask the Order for help."

Ron shot her an angry glare. "We can't tell anyone! We promised Harry."

Hermione nodded again. "I know. I won't tell. I promise."

Giving a last worried look at the place where the box was buried, the two went back inside the house.


	4. Chapter 4 Training

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

Chapter Four – Training

The night of the Wizengamot hearing, Scrimgeour showed Harry a large empty chamber. The Minister explained that Harry could expect most of his lessons to take place there, with the various tutors bringing the necessary study aids with them to each class. That night was spent in reviewing what Harry already knew, with one of the Aurors taking notes.

The next morning, however, training started in earnest. Harry was awakened at 6:00 am. He was permitted one-half hour to dress and have breakfast and, by 6:30 was at the training room. There he met two gentlemen, an Auror named David Callahan and a young man named John Mileter who explained that he was one of Scrimgeour's undersecretaries. He reminded Harry of Percy Weasley. Militer was there just to monitor Harry's day, making sure that he kept to the schedule that had been set.

At this explanation, Harry asked, "I need someone to keep track of my schedule? How hard can this be?"

Militer puffed his chest out importantly. Yup, Harry thought. Definitely another Percy. With a brief wave of his wand, Militer displayed on one of the walls an agenda showing the lessons Harry was expected to master. "This is just today," Militer said.

6:30 – 6:45 am –introductory remarks

6:45 – 7 am – stinging hex

7am – 7:30 am – incendiary charm

7:30 – 8:00 am – ventoso charm (also known as the windtunnel charm)

8:00 am – 9:00 am – protego magnus

9:00 am – 12:00 am – transfiguration

12:00 – 12:30 pm – lunch

12:30 – 2:30 pm – identifying poisons

2:30 – 4:00 pm – occlumency

4:00 – 5:00 pm – legimency

5:00 – 6:00 pm – transfiguration

6:00 – 6:30 pm – dinner

6:30 – 8:00 pm – practice dueling

8:00 – 10:00 pm – review of day's lesson

10:00 – bed

Harry read the list and was stunned. "This is all today!"

Militer either didn't notice or chose to ignore the note of shock in Harry's voice. "Yes. We have carefully planned your studies for the next six months. You will be learning the topics you would have learned in your seventh year at Hogwarts, but at a far accelerated pace. We have also added many other items that we think might come in handy."

"Look, I'll do my best, but I'm not even going to try occlumency!" Immediately, Harry felt nauseous and vaguely stressed. At first, he didn't recognize the emotion. However, after a moment, he realized that he had felt this way when he had failed to try hard enough when Dumbledore had asked him to obtain Slughorn's memory. It was the terrible feeling of disappointing someone he had desperately wanted to please.

This feeling was followed by a burning sensation running through his blood, urging him to agree with the suggested schedule. Yielding to this urge, Harry said, "I guess I can try again. Maybe with a different teacher, I can do better. It doesn't hurt to give it a try." At once, the burning sensation lifted and a pleasant feeling of accomplishment coursed through him. With irritation, Harry recognized the Obedius Charm at work.

Militer smiled approvingly. "We know that you will do fine, Harry. And, now, keeping to the schedule, your first lesson. The stinging hex."

Callahan stepped forwarded and the lesson began. This was a fairly simple lesson. Harry had learned this hex before. However, Callahan wanted to improve the strength of the hex that Harry could throw and concentrated on correcting his stance and wand motion. With these simple instructions, Harry was able to produce a satisfactory hex.

This was followed by the charms to conjure fire and then wind. Callahan left and a new Auror, Willis Timbrid, began tutoring Harry on the protego magnus charm. Harry had long been able to perform the basic "protego" charm but, as its name implied, this charm magnified the strength of that charm many times over. The purpose of the charm was to increase the area of the shield's protection as well as its strength.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw that Scrimgeour had entered the chamber and was watching the lesson in progress. Harry was annoyed that Scrimgeour had chosen to look in during a lesson that wasn't going particularly well. Harry was finding it difficult to find the core within himself that allowed the protego charm to increase in strength. He had been practicing for a half an hour without much success and he could tell that Timbrid was becoming frustrated. Harry thought resentfully that just because Timbrid was an Auror didn't make him a good teacher!

"Stop," said Scrimgeour, after watching in silence for about ten minutes.

Harry put up his wand. He pushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes and let out a "whoosh" of air. Scrimgeour looked at him assessingly. "Harry. I understand that you work best under pressure. Let's put that to the test, shall we?" And, with no other warning, Scrimgeour pulled his own wand from his sleeve and pointed it at Harry. A stinging hex went straight for him and Harry barely had time to cast a protego charm to deflect it.

Scrimgeour smiled. "Very good, Harry. Excellent reflexes. Timbrid, please." Timbrid immediately cast a stinging hex as well, and Harry's protego charm barely withstood the second attack.

Without giving Harry time to rest, Scrimgeour said, "Timbrid, together." And the two sent the hex simultaneously to Harry. Harry's knees almost buckled under the combined strength of the hexes hitting his shield. It was weakening quickly, he didn't think it could hold again.

"Stop, stop! Are you nuts!" he called, but Scrimgeour ignored him. "Again, Timbrid." The two hexes struck again. One broke through and hit Harry's shoulder. "Ow!" A burning sensation spread through his shoulder. He almost dropped his wand. Timbrid pulled up his wand and Scrimgeour cast him an angry glance. "Again, Timbrid! And again! Do not stop. If Mr. Potter does not wish to feel the stinging hex, he knows what to do! Protego magnus, Harry!"

Harry felt another stinging hex strike his knee, buckling it. Yelling in pain, he fell down into a kneeling position. Seeing that neither Scrimgeour nor Timbrid would stop, Harry desperately raised his wand and yelled "Protego" again. The shield was weak and was shattered by the next curses. He knew that next wave would hit him squarely. A feeling of fury rose within Harry. How dare Scrimgeour put him through this! It was Scrimgeour who had forced him to be at the Department of Magic. Scrimgeour who had forced him to take these lessons and, now that Harry was having some trouble, it was Scrimgeour who was torturing him! With a feeling of "I'll show him" uppermost in his mind, Harry grabbed his wand more tightly in his hand and thrust it in front of his chest. He shouted, "Protego magnus" in a carrying voice and a bright yellow glow burst from the tip of his wand. The force of the spell pushed into Scrimgeour and Timbrid, knocking them both a few steps backwards.

Scrimgeour smiled widely as he saw the shield in front of Harry, so thick that it was slightly visible. He sent another hex toward the shield and it was easily swallowed by the pulsing energy.

"Well done, Harry!"

Harry lowered his wand and the shield disappeared. He trembled slightly and breathed in short pants. The pain from his shoulder and knee throbbed. However, the pleasure of hearing Scrimgeour's praise made Harry's heart squeeze. The Obedius charm again. It felt so good that it was almost painful.

Scrimgeour approached Harry and offered him a hand to stand back up. Harry grabbed the Minister's hand and allowed him to help him up. Scrimgeour patted Harry jovially on the back. "That was the most powerful protego magnus charm I've ever seen! You have the power inside to be one of the greatest wizards the world has known, Harry. And we will help you to recognize that greatness!"

Harry saw the fanatic light in Scrimgeour's eyes. It reminded him of the look that Oliver Woods would often have as he drove the Quidditch team to practice endlessly in the quest to win the Quidditch cup. There was no arguing with Woods when he had that look and Harry suspected that it would be the same with Scrimgeour.

"Well, Harry. On to the next lesson! It's time for transfiguration. I'll let you get to it. I'll be checking in on you from time to time. If ever you need to speak with me, just have Militer give me a call."

Harry gave a short nod, but Scrimgeour didn't seem to mind. As Scrimgeour was near the door, about to leave the room, he was hit with a stinging hex. The Minister cursed and rubbed his side. Furiously, he turned to stare at Harry. With wide eyes, Harry looked at him innocently. "I'm so sorry, Minister. I was practicing the hex which I had learned earlier, to compare against the hexes you were just using, and I guess my aim was off."

Scrimgeour's eyes narrowed. Harry could see how the Minister was struggling to contain his temper. Harry swore he could hear the noise from Scrimgeour's clenching his teeth so tightly. Harry continued to stare evenly into Scrimgeour's eyes, refusing to blink.

Apparently, the Minister decided not to press the matter. He left the room. Harry barely had time to gather his thoughts before Timbrid called to him to focus on his next lesson.

That night, Harry fell into bed and, exhausted, was asleep before his head hit the pillow. That day set the tone for the days that followed. Harry found that he was able to learn many spells very quickly, surprising his tutors on occasion. Each day, Harry met with at least five Aurors, as they took turns instructing him in their area of expertise. Some of his lessons came slowly, such as Occlumency and Legimency, which was no surprise to him. However, even in these he saw a marked improvement in his abilities. Certainly, he was able to practice occlumency with no problem. At night, he had no time to think about anything. He was easily able to clear his mind, as he fell asleep immediately.

Harry made slow but consistent progress in transfiguration classes. After about a week of lessons, Harry had sufficiently advanced such that he was able to vanish large objects and could conjure most of the inanimate objects set to him as tasks.

Potions was far different from his lessons at Hogwarts. Harry was not expected to brew any potions himself. Rather, he was expected to identify potions which had already been prepared, with particular attention being given to what poisons might be present. Scrimgeour seemed to think that one of the biggest threats facing Harry was that Voldemort or his Death Eaters might seek to poison Harry. The Minister reminded Harry of Moody – who was so paranoid he only drank from his own flask and only ate food he had prepared himself.

Once Harry had grasped some of the basics of identifying ingredients, his lessons were intertwined with mealtimes. Every meal, he was brought two plates of food and two cups of drink. One contained ingredients that would make Harry ill. Scrimgeour, still operating under the principle that Harry worked better under pressure, insisted that Harry choose which plate of food to eat and from which cup he would drink. Poisons had been tempered so that none would actually kill Harry if he swallowed them mistakenly. However, if Harry selected incorrectly, as he did on a few occasions, he spent the next few hours hunched over the toilet, wretching miserably. Actually, while Harry would have suffered through the Cruciatus Curse rather than admit it to the Minister, the fear of being ill did seem to heighten his senses. Within a few weeks, Harry became adept at avoiding poisoned food and drink.

Harry couldn't resist turning Scrimgeour's teaching method against the older man when Harry had the opportunity. One day, Scrimgeour joined the teenager for lunch in the training room, apparently hoping that sharing a meal might help soothe Harry's hostility toward him. The Minister had been at the table only a few minutes, however, before he was gripped by severe stomach pains and had to rush to the bathroom. When he returned a short while later, he looked at his plate and drink suspiciously. Sniffing at his cup, he detected the tell-tale odor of one of the poisons being used in Harry's lessons.

With the cup still raised to just below his nose, Scrimgeour glared at Harry. "You moved the poisoned cup in front of me on purpose!" Scrimgeour accused.

Harry once again trotted out his innocent look. "What do you mean, sir? Do you think that your cup had poison in it? How awful!"

"Harry," Scrimgeour began in a dangerous voice.

"Surely you don't think that I deliberately poisoned you? Why, to let someone deliberately swallow poison would be pretty despicable!"

Scrimgeour stopped. He put the cup down on the table with a thud. Harry wasn't sure what Scrimgeour would have done next if the poison hadn't acted up again. Scrimgeour's eyes flew wide and he darted to the bathroom again.

Harry smirked and finished eating his lunch. When Scrimgeour returned, Harry was already in the middle of a lesson. Harry met Scrimgeour's look with a bland expression. "I'm sorry you weren't able to join me for lunch after all, Minister. Perhaps, another time?"

Scrimgeour didn't answer. He cast a furious glare at the teenager and left the room. Harry allowed himself a moment to savor the victory before he was forced to pay attention to his lessons.


	5. Chapter 5 Lunch with Scrimgeour

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

Chapter Five – Lunch with Scrimgeour

Despite Harry's few run-ins with Scrimgeour, by and large the days went by uneventfully. That changed one day in late August, when Harry had been at the Department of Magic about three weeks.

That morning, he arrived at the chamber for breakfast and lessons. Still only half-awake,the teenagerrealized that he had left his wand behind in his room. He turned to leave the training room, intending to return to his bedroom to retrieve his wand, when the door opened and the Minister strolled in with Arthur Weasley right behind him.

"Mr. Weasley!" Harry shouted in surprise. He rushed over to Arthur and the two hugged warmly.

"How are you doing, Harry? I've been so worried about you."

Harry flushed in embarrassment. "I've been fine. As you can see," Harry spread his arms, indicating the breadth of the chamber, "I've been studying hard. I've learned quite a bit and I expect to be able to leave here soon." With that, Harry cast a challenging look to Scrimgeour.

Scrimgeour refused to rise to the bait and didn't respond.

Harry turned back to Arthur. "You have to tell me everything that's been going on, Mr. Weasley. How is everyone?"

Arthur smiled. "Of course. Everyone's fine. We will be having lunch together and we'll speak more then. But, first, I was hoping to see you in some lessons. That way, I can report back to Molly that you are doing fine."

Harry smiled. "Sure. Just wait a minute. I left my wand back in my room, and I have to get it."

Harry moved to the door and, surprised, found it blocked by Scrimgeour. He looked up and was shocked to see a furious look upon the Minister's face. "You left your wand in your room?" demanded Scrimgeour.

Harry realized that he was in trouble. "I…I just was a bit distracted this morning. I'll just run back and get it, all right?"

But, Scrimgeour drew his wand and Harry took a step back in alarm. "Minister! What are you doing?" asked Arthur in shock.

Without warning, Scrimgeour cast a hex at Harry. Harry felt a burning sensation in his stomach and doubled over gasping, and moaning. Arthur ran to Harry's side and supported his shoulders. He cast a furious look at Scrimgeour and yelled, "What the hell are you thinking, man? What was that about!"

"Never…leave…your…wand…again!" Scrimgeour spat through clenched teeth. "Is that understood, Mr. Potter?" Harry stood up, still clenching his stomach. "I said, is that understood!"

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir," he said tightly. Scrimgeour was definitely rivalling Snape as one of his least favorite people! And slowly, with as much dignity as he could muster, Harry limped to the door and went quickly to his room, returning with his wand in just a few minutes.

As Harry approach the chamber, he heard Arthur and Scrimgeour arguing. "You are too hard on the boy!" he heard Arthur say.

Scrimgeour responded back sharply, "Arthur, I'll train him as I see fit. You know, he can't be allowed to be so lax. Forgetting his wand! An action like that could get him killed. You let your feelings for the boy blind you to his potential. I have never seen another wizard who has the power he has at his age. He needs to tap into that power and unleash it. And, he can't be making foolish mistakes!"

When Harry entered the room, both men fell silent. Neither mentioned the incident again and Harry's lessons continued.

At lunch time, Scrimgeour led Harry and Arthur to the Minister's office. They took a special elevator up to the floor where his office was located. No one else was able to get on or off. Harry wore an invisibility cloak until they were inside the office. Lunch had already been arranged at a table in the center of the room. Scrimgeour took a seat at the head of the table and motioned for Harry to sit on one side of him, Arthur on the other.

As Harry picked up his fork to eat, he noticed a subtle shimmer in the food that indicated the presence of one of the poisons he had been trained to recognize. He froze, with his fork in midair, staring at the plate. So, the Minister was pulling the same trick on Harry that Harry had used on him! Harry lifted his eyes to Scrimgeour, to find that the Minister was watching him closely.

Slowly putting his fork down, Harry said in a low voice, "May I please have another plate, sir?"

Scrimgeour smiled and motioned for a house-elf, who Harry had not previously noticed, to remove Harry's plate. At Arthur's bewildered expression, Scrimgeour laughed and said, "Oh, Arthur, we were just practicing Harry's ability to identify when someone may be trying to poison him. And, as you can see, Mr. Potter has improved immensely in this area. Don't worry, Harry, I have no hard feelings about our previous lunch engagement! I'm very glad that you recognized the poison." He gave a self-satisfied smirk. "I think you can see the benefits of our teaching methods here, Arthur. No coddling the boy. He eats poisoned food, he gets sick." Scrimgeour ignored Arthur's appalled expression. "And, as Harry just demonstrated, he was able to avoid the poisoned food." He ignored the silence that greeted these words and, waving his fork in the air, said, "Eat! Eat!" to his guests.

Arthur looked unconvinced, but, when Harry didn't say anything, he picked his fork and started eating. As they ate, Harry asked Arthur how everyone in the Weasley family was doing. "Fine," said Arthur with a smile. "Molly is keeping busy worrying about everyone, as always. Fred and George are doing so well with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes that they're thinking of expanding into France. Hermione is staying the summer with us and she, Ron and Ginny ask about you constantly."

"Where do they think I am?" asked Harry, curiously.

"We've told them that you've been staying with Moody. At the moment, they think you'll be returning to Hogwarts for the fall term."

Harry stared down at his plate. He felt a lump in his throat and he swallowed painfully. His appetite deserted him. Just thinking about his friends made him miss them so much. He knew he needed to keep away from Ginny if he was going to be able to hide his feelings for her. But, maybe, just maybe, Scrimgeour would let him see Ron and Hermione.

Turning to the Minister, Harry pleaded, "Please, sir. Please. May Ron and Hermione visit? I…I would really like to see them."

Scrimgeour hesitated. "Please," Harry begged.

Hesitantly, Scrimgeour nodded. "Yes!" yelled Harry. "Thank you!"

"How about next weekend?" suggested Arthur, with a smile.

Scrimgeour agreed but cautioned, "Only for an hour, Arthur. Harry's cannot neglect his lessons."

"Lessons? On the weekend?" asked Arthur, surprised.

Scrimgeour nodded. "Absolutely. Seven days a week! You Know Who is not resting and neither are we!"

Arthur cast an alarmed glance at Harry. "I hope you are not overworking Harry. Everyone needs to rest."

With irritation, Scrimgeour dismissed the implied criticism. "Harry is fine. He's stronger than you give him credit for. We'll push Mr. Potter as far as we can. He won't break. Will you, Harry?"

"No, I won't break," said Harry in a resentful voice. Over the last number of weeks, as much as he was angry at Scrimgeour for forcing him to work such long hours, Harry refused to ask for any concessions. He realized, dimly, that this was the same obstinate streak that had caused him to bear with Umbridge's detentions without telling Dumbledore. It was as if he and Scrimgeour were engaging in some unnamed battle. Harry felt that to complain was to concede defeat, although he realized that Scrimgeour was all too happy to take advantage of this obstinancy by urging Harry to train harder and harder. Now, Harry met Scrimgeour's eyes angrily, knowing that the Minister knew full well that Harry would not complain to Arthur or anyone else.

The rest of the lunch passed quickly. However, as they were enjoying their after-meal tea, something occurred that drove everything else from Harry's mind. Scrimgeour picked up a beautiful carved silver box and passed it to Arthur. "Would you like some mints?" he asked politely. Arthur took one and passed the box to Harry. Harry popped a mint in his mouth and shut the lid on the box. As he did so, he noticed its intricate carvings. Two intertwining "R's".

Noticing Harry's glance, Scrimgeour said, "It's beautiful, isn't it? This box actually belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. It's one of very few objects that have survived through the years that belonged to her. It was given as a present to Minister Fudge a number of years ago."

Harry ran his fingers over the carvings on the lid. His heart was pounding so loudly, he was surprised neither Scrimgeour nor Mr. Weasley noticed. Was it possible that Fudge received the present from Voldemort? Or, more likely, Malfoy or some other Death Eater? Could this be one of the horcruxes? Dumbledore had hypothesized that Voldemort wanted to use an object belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw. And, wouldn't Voldemort or Malfoy think it a clever trick to have the Department of Magic itself unwittingly guard the horcrux?

Trying to hide his eagnerness, Harry cleared his throat. "I know it's a lot to ask, but would you mind if I took the box for a while?" At Scrimgeour's look of surprise, Harry hastened to add, "Oh, I don't mean to keep it. It's just…just that I miss school. This will remind me of Hogwarts," Harry invented quickly. "I could keep it in my room and I'd return it when I leave here, of course."

"Certainly, Harry," said Scrimgeour without hesitation. "Anything you want."

"Thanks," said Harry, with a small note of surprise in his voice. He was not used to Scrimgeour being pleasant to him.

Lunch drew to a close. Mr. Weasley accompanied them back to the training room, where he watched Harry's lessons for the rest of the afternoon. He couldn't help be impressed by how much Harry had learned in such a short time. After Arthur watched Harry cast a particularly tricky charm involving shrinking a desk, Arthur turned to Scrimgeour and said, "I'm not comfortable with all of your teaching methods, Minister. But, I can't argue with success."

Scrimgeour smiled complacently. "We know what we're doing, Weasley. Every day brings us nearer to the battle between Harry and You Know Who. We can only hope that we have enough time to make him ready."

Harry overheard and felt the familiar rush of resentment at Scrimgeour's high-handed attitude. Without giving himself time to think, he pointed his wand at Scrimgeour and muttered beneath his breath. Instantly, Scrimgeour's robes were transformed into a very stylish woman's dress. The unexpectedness of the change caused Mr. Weasley to let out a bark of laughter, which he quickly tried to disguise as a cough. The Aurors in the room discretely turned to hide their grins.

Scrimgeour stared down at himself and then glared at Harry. "Potter! What is the meaning of this?"

Harry smirked. "I thought I would just show Mr. Weasley how much progress I've made in transfiguration. Weren't you just explaining how well I'm doing in my lessons?"

Scrimgeour realized that he had irritated Harry, and so swallowed his own annoyance. "Hah! Hah! Very funny, Harry!" he said sarcastically.

Harry agreed. "Well, I think it is an improvement, sir." His eyes challenged Scrimgeour to punish him, but Scrimgeour did not want to push the teenager into a corner.

Instead, adopting a lofty tone, the Minister said, "If it pleases you to engage in such childish antics, go ahead."

Immediately, the satisfaction Harry had felt in casting the spell was gone. As Scrimgeour had intended, Harry felt about two years old. Anger rose in him. Prat! Deliberately, Harry pointed his wand at Scrimgeour, who refused to blink. Harry whispered under his breath and Scrimgeour's clothes changed again. In disbelief, the Minister found himself standing there in an elaborate muggle wedding dress, complete with bouquet and wedding veil.

Harry smirked again. When Scrimgeour raised his eyes from his dress to the teenager, Harry spread his arms innocently. "You said 'go ahead'."

At this, Arthur and the Aurors couldn't help but burst out laughing. At first, Scrimgeour was annoyed but, once he had used his own wand to restore his clothing, he too seemed to realized how foolish he had looked, and smiled slightly. He shook his head threateningly at Harry but didn't say any more. Harry was surprised that Scrimgeour would let him get away with his cheek, but attributed this leniency to Mr. Weasley's presence.

All too soon, Mr. Weasley was saying goodbye. He gave Harry an extra-warm hug and seemed reluctant to leave. But, eventually, he put Harry from him and said, "You take care, Harry."

Harry watched him leave with sad eyes. He tried not to feel abandoned. He was surrounded by people who only cared about turning him into the ultimate weapon. No one who cared about him. He missed Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the Weasley family with an ache that actually hurt.

Scrimgeour sighed, noticing Harry's melancholy. "Harry, as you know by now – by firsthand experience! – I am not a gentle man. I am a soldier and now I am the Minister of Magic. I am responsible for the safety of thousands. I don't want to be harsh with you. It's just…" Scrimgeour's voice trailed off. "You are our only hope, Harry."

They exchanged serious looks. Scrimgeour said in a quiet voice, "Why don't you go to bed early tonight, Harry? It's been a busy day." Harry gave a small nod and turned away. He went to his room and laid down. However, unlike most nights, this time Harry lay awake for awhile, turning over Scrimgeour's words in his mind and staring at Rowena Ravenclaw's box sitting on his bedside table.


	6. Chapter 6 Ron and Hermione Visit

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

AN – Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. I appreciate your kind words so much!

I received a question about why Scrimgeour believes Harry is the only hope. I thought this might be worth clarifying. Before Harry (as a baby) defeated Voldemort with the rebounding Killing Curse, the side of Light couldn't stop Voldemort's rise to power. There's nothing new in Voldemort's new rise. The side of Light is losing. Scrimgeour is pinning his hopes on "creating" a Chosen One. One thing Scrimgeour (and everyone else) does know for sure: Voldemort will personally seek to battle with Harry at some point. Scrimgeour is hoping that, during this battle, Harry will triumph – a long shot, it's true. But, from Scrimgeour's perspective, what else can he do? He has nothing to lose by training Harry to win a duel with Voldemort. If Harry loses, the Ministry can always continue with the same tactics it has been using in its fight so far – it's just that those tactics haven't been successful and Scrimgeour doesn't believe that the Ministry will ultimately win against Voldemort unless a miracle happens. That miracle: Harry!

--

Chapter Six – Ron and Hermione Visit

The following Saturday, right after breakfast, the door of the training chamber opened and Ron and Hermione entered. The friends rushed to greet each other. Hermione threw herself into Harry's arms. While Harry hugged her, Ron threw an arm around Harry's shoulder and they stayed in this awkward three way hug for a minute.

Dimly, Harry was aware that the Auror who had been training him when Ron and Hermione arrived had left the room. Scrimgeour had agreed that Harry could have some time alone with his friends. Harry was grateful for the privacy.

When they drew apart from their hug, Harry found himself the subject of fierce scrutiny from his friends. Hermione burst out, "Harry, we couldn't believe it when Mr. Weasley told us where you were! You look exhausted!"

Harry smiled, "Yeah. Well, Scrimgeour has been working me hard. But, I'm fine, really. Look, we don't have a lot of time and I have a lot to tell you."

Ron interrupted, "Mate, we have a lot to tell you! Us, first." At his look and nod, Hermione drew a box from inside her jacket, and said, "I told Scrimgeour this was a gift for you, so he let us bring it in."

With a wave of her wand, Hermione opened the box and Harry saw its contents. He gasped. Raising his eyes to his friends in awe, he breathed, "How?"

The two smiled smugly, satisfied with Harry's reaction. "We just did what you said, Harry," said Ron. "We went to Godric's Hollow." Pointing to the cup, he continued, "We found that cup in the debris of your bedroom."

Harry's eyes narrowed, imagining the scene. Hermione hastened to finish the tale, "And we found the locket in Sirius' house. You remember, we saw it before, we just didn't realize what it was."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "This is amazing. Do you realize what this means? We've found five of the six horcruxes!"

Ron and Hermione exchanged confused looks. "Five? We know that you and Dumbledore destroyed two already and these two we found make four. What do you mean five?"

With a flourish, Harry pulled Rowena Ravenclaw's box from his pocket. "Look! I found this in Scrimgeour's office. It's a relic from Rowena Ravenclaw. I'm betting it's a horcrux too."

Ron and Hermione gazed at it in awe. "I've been waiting for you two to come to discuss how I could destroy it. Now, we have three horcruxes to destroy."

The three friends exchanged nervous glances. Who knew what protections might be triggered by their attempt to destroy the items? But, they couldn't receive help from anyone without telling what the horcruxes were.

"All right," said Harry, taking a breath. "One at a time. I've actually been thinking about what to do once we found these things. For the cup, I've been wondering if it might not work to poison it."

"How do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"Well, it's a cup," said Harry. "Why not work with that?" Harry opened the door of the room, and spoke to the Auror positioned outside. "Excuse me, sir. I was just telling my friends about some of my lessons. Hermione, here, is the smartest witch in our class. She was very interested in the poisons I was telling her I've been studying. In particular, she was wondering if she could see the Medici Mixture. Would it be possible to show her?"

The Auror hesitated a moment, then said, "I think that would be all right. I'll check with Mr. Militer, and have it brought here if it's permitted."

"Thank you, sir," said Harry politely.

While the friends waited to see if the poison would be forthcoming, they discussed how it might be used. Hermione did not believe that simply pouring the potion into the cup would have any effect. They had just agreed that Harry would try to put some scratches into the cup so that the poison might seep inside, when there was a knock on the door and the Auror entered, bearing the poison.

Harry hastened to take it from the man, and placed it carefully on one of the tables. "We'll return this in a minute, I promise," Harry told the man. Although he looked a little reluctant to leave the room with the poison remaining behind, the Auror did shut the door behind him.

Immediately, Harry put the cup on the table next to the poison. With a few waves of his wand, he made some scratches in the inside of the bowl of the cup. "Stand back," he directed. Taking a deep breath, he poured the poison inside and the three nervously waited to see what would happen. At first, it was quiet, and then a low moaning sound seemed to issue from the cup. It rocked on the table, as if an earthquake were shaking the room. Finally, the moaning stopped and a large cloud of black smoke burst from the cup. Looking at the cup suspiciously, Harry drew nearer. When the cup stayed quiet, Harry, with a wave of his wand, poured the poison back into the cup that the Auror had brought. Peering inside the Hufflepuff relic, he saw that the small scratches he had made in the bowl of the cup were now much deeper. A strange deep red liquid was oozing from the side of the scratches and with a thump of his heart, Harry realized that it looked like blood.

"Do you think it's dead?" Ron whispered.

"I don't know how to tell for sure," said Harry. "But, it certainly seems so."

The three friends smiled tentatively at each other. Harry gave the poison back to the Auror and then shut the door again, locking it with a soft "Colloportus".

"On to the other two," said Harry.

Hermione warned, "I can't believe we'll have such an easy time with either of the others. I think we just got extraordinarily lucky with the cup, Harry."

Harry nodded. "Let's combine our strength for this." All three pointed their wands at the locket. "Ron, you cast a blasting charm. Hermione, you try a fire charm. I'll use an exploding charm that I've been practicing." At his nod, and countdown, the three threw their spells simultaneously.

The combined force of the three enchantments caused the locket to glow gold but nothing else happened. It seemed as if the locket had absorbed the spells, but it did not explode or burst into flames. They cast worried looks at each other, waiting to see if the locket would answer back. After a moment, the locket slowly floated into the air. The three watched it nervously. Then, without warning, a beam of red light issued from the locket and shot directly at the teenagers. Harry barely had time to yell, "Protego". The red light ricocheted off of Harry's shield and sped around the room, hitting the walls with loud bangs. As it sped, it seemed to pick up both speed and power.

The three friends cowered together in a corner of the room. With a sinking stomach, Harry saw the red beam of light head directly for Rowena Ravenclaw's box. "Oh, no!" yelled Hermione. Helplessly, they watched the beam hit the box. With horrified eyes, the teenagers watched a surge of orange light now join the red. It appeared that the two horcruxes were now combined. The beam bounced around the walls of the room, leaving scorch marks in its path. The room glowed with the eerie light.

Harry heard fierce pounding on the locked door. Oh, no! Quickly, Harry threw a charm at the door to stop anyone from entering. He conjured a force field to push with all its strength at the door. Even if they were able to open the lock, his charm acted to push the door closed.

No sooner had Harry done this than he saw that the ricocheting beam of light was heading straight toward the three friends. Hermione screamed and Ron swore. Automatically, Harry yelled, "Protego magnus!" Immediately, a strong barrier formed between the teenagers and the beam of light. As the light hit, the barrier seemed to swallow the beam. The barrier glowed with the force of the beam hitting it but held strong. Harry threw all of his energy into maintaining the shield. He shook with the effort to keep his wand straight and to keep the barrier strong. Finally, after about a minute, but which seemed far longer, there was silence in the room and the light was gone.

Hermione and Ron slowly stood up from the crouching positions they had assumed when the beam had hurtled toward them. The three cautiously approached the horcruxes. The locket had sprung open and the intertwining R's on top of the box were now positioned differently. The pounding on the door was getting louder. Harry quickly swept the former horcruxes into his pocket. He then cancelled his pushing charm and, with an "Alohomora," opened the door.

Four Aurors rushed into the room, followed by Scrimgeour. Their wands were drawn and they looked around quickly. "What happened!"

Harry put an innocent expression on his face. "What do you mean? Oh, that noise? I was just showing Ron and Hermione some of the spells I've learned. I guess I didn't realize how noisy they were. I'm sorry."

Scrimgeour looked at Harry suspiciously. He sniffed the air as if he could detect a lingering smell of the smoke from Helga Hufflepuff's cup and noticed the scorch marks on the walls. He approached a wall and ran his finger over one of the marks. The Minister stared back at Harry without speaking, siliently asking the teenager to explain. Harry forced himself to look calm and said nothing.

Ron piped up, with a nervous voice, "Harry sure has learned some cool stuff!"

Scrimgeour glared at the three, sure that something more had happened than just a demonstration of Harry's lessons. However, not sure how to handle the situation, the Minister contented himself with bringing the visit to an end. "Mr. Weasley and Ms. Hermione. Thank you for visiting Harry. I'm sorry that he can't spend more time with you but I believe it's time to say goodbye."

Harry opened his mouth to argue. He hadn't really had time to speak with them at all! However, seeing the look in Scrimgeour's eyes, Harry bit his tongue. The friends murmured their farewells and Ron and Hermione promised to write. They squeezed each other's hands in silent communication, acknowledging how lucky they had been to destroy the three horcruxeswithout anyone being hurt. Harry watched his friends leave with resentment.

As soon as one of the Aurors had accompanied his friends from the room, Scrimgeour turned to Harry. "I think that this break should have left you refreshed, Harry. You should have the energy to practice your dueling with Mr. Callahan and Ms. Water now. I think I'll stay to watch for a while."

Harry found the duelling was particularly fierce and tiring as Scrimgeour encouraged the Aurors to push the teenager to the limit. The Minister seemed to think that Harry had pulled some prank when Ron and Hermione had visited and this was his way of punishing Harry. Harry didn't complain but he was weaving on his feet from exhaustion by the time he was permitted to go to bed. As annoyed as Harry was with Scrimgeour, Harry grudgingly admitted to himself that it was a good thing that he now knew how to use the protego magnus charm. He wasn't sure that he would have been able to defeat the last two horcruxes without it. It galled Harry no end to think that maybe Scrimgeour had a point in forcing him to study the lessons he had and making Harry practice so hard.

Lying in his bed that night, in the few minutes before he fell asleep, Harry considered the events of the day. Ever since he had been forced into Ministry custody, he felt the weight of his inability to search for the horcruxes. Now that, incredibly, he had been able to destroy three of the four remaining, he felt an insidious ray of hope. He tamped it down firmly, telling himself not to become over-confident. The likelihood of his being able to defeat Voldemort was still remote. How could he hope to vanquish the most feared wizard of all time? However, since only Nagini was left to be destroyed (if Dumbledore was correct about the identity of the remaining horcrux), Harry allowed himself to cease mentally resisting his stay at the Ministry. He wouldn't find Nagini without finding Voldemort, and he might as well have as many spells in his arsenal as possible before then.

Harry hadn't realized just how much his need to search for the horcruxes had been affecting him. No longer resisting the custody of the Ministry, he felt the full effect of the Obedius Charm. A feeling of well-being flooded his body. This, he imagined, was the feeling that an athlete would have when winning a race, or a mountaineer would have upon scaling a peak. The effects of the charm, coupled with Harry's natural satisfaction at destroying the horcruxes, made Harry feel ecstatic. While he knew that this emotion was not to be trusted, he had to admit that it was a far more enjoyable sensation than most of the sensations he experienced in connection with his ongoing battle with Voldemort.


	7. Chapter 7 The Unforgivable Curses

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

Chapter Seven – The Unforgivable Curses

The days and weeks blended into each other. Harry lost count of the number of spells he learned. He passed each day in waves of exhaustion. Scrimgeour usually dropped by every few days to check Harry's progress himself, although Harry knew the Minister received daily updates from Militer.

Since Scrimgeour's presence was not unusual, Harry didn't think anything of it when the Minister arrived one afternoon shortly after lunch. Scrimgeour watched Harry from the corner of the room, while Harry practiced a hex that caused his opponent to have coughing fits. Harry learned the hex after just a few minutes and Scrimgeour stepped forward.

"Fine, fine. Callahan has been singing your praises, Harry. Says he hasn't ever met anyone with such an aptitude for hexes and I see it's true."

Uh, oh! Harry thought.Scrimgeour was praising him. He must want something.

When Harry just looked at him suscipiously and didn't respond, Scrimgeour continued. His voice took on a very serious tone. "Harry, I imagine you've been wondering when you were going to learn the Unforgivable Curses. You've been doing so well in your lessons, we think it's time for you to learn these."

Ice seemed to have formed in Harry's stomach. Harry realized that he should have been expecting to learn these curses but, for some reason,it hadn't crossed his mind. Maybe, he just hadn't wanted to think about it. Now, the thought of learning them – using them – made him nauseous. Casting around for a reason to delay these lessons, Harry said lamely, "It's illegal for me to use them."

Scrimgeour gave him an impatient glance. "You've been given dispensation to use these curses, of course. Actually, very few wizards are able to perform them," Scrimgeour continued. "And, even those who can learn these curses take months of practice to master them. We'll need you to learn these as quickly as you can, as these will be among the most powerful weapons in your fight with You Know Who. In particular, it is absolutely crucial for you to learn Avada Kedavra. You simply cannot meet You Know Who until you are able to cast that spell. We'll start with the other Unforgivable Curses first, but we must move on to the Killing Curse as soon as possible."

Harry felt extremely nervous. He had cast the Cruciatus Curse once before, when fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. Remembering what she had told him, Harry said, "Sir. Bellatrix Lestrange told me that a wizard cannot perform the Cruciatus Curse unless he enjoys causing pain. Is that true?"

"No, Harry," Scrimgeour responded. "Perhaps, she said this because she enjoys causing pain and assumes that this is a necessary part of the spell for everyone. I don't expect that you will enjoycasting the curse. I certainly hope not! But, that won't affect your ability to perform it."

"How am I going to practice these curses?" asked Harry. "I can't practice the Cruciatus Curse or the Killing Curse on the Aurors!"

"Let us worry about that, Harry. For now, we'll start with the Imperius Curse. Callahan has volunteered to be the first person you practice on." Scrimgeour nodded to the Auror and said, "Thank you, Callahan. Now, Harry you've seen the curse before."

Harry nodded in readiness. "All right. Why don't you try it, then? Hopefully, Callahan will feel some compulsion to obey you and we'll work to strengthen this. If we're lucky, you'll be able to generate sufficient strength by the end of the week, or beginning of next, for the curse to work properly."

Harry took a deep breath. "Are you ready?" he asked Callahan.

"Go ahead, Harry," replied the Auror.

Harry pointed his wand at Callahan and shouted, "Imperio!" He felt a strong surge, like electricity, through his arm and a powerful blast issued from his wand, hitting Callahan squarely.

Immediately, Callahan's expression slackened. Scrimgeour looked astonished. He said quickly, "Harry, tell Callahan to do something."

"Er…jump up and down."

Callahan jumped up and down. Scrimgeour was grinning. "Tell him something else!"

Harry's thoughts scattered. What should he tell Callahan to do? All ideas fled. "Quack like a duck," he suggested weakly.

Instantly, Callahan quacked like a duck. Scrimgeour laughed. "Enough, Harry. Let him go."

Harry lifted his wand and said "Finite Incantatem."

Callahan blinked and smiled. "Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" he muttered. He and Scrimgeour exchanged happy looks. The Auror said, "It looks like we can move right on to the Cruciatus Curse. Harry's a natural at the Imperius Curse."

"Oh," said Harry. "Can't we wait for another day?"

Scrimgeour looked at him seriously. "Waiting won't make it easier, Harry. The day is young. Let's continue."

Resigned, Harry said, "So, how am I going to learn the Cruciatus Curse? I can't curse Callahan."

Callahan conjured a cage of hamsters. "You'll practice on these."

"No!" said Harry definitively. "No way! I am not torturing animals!"

"Harry," began Callahan, but he stopped at Scrimgeour's gesture. With a considering expression, Scrimgeour said, "It's all right, Callahan. It's not in Harry's nature to hurt any creature and I don't think we should try to subvert this. Let's tackle this problem another way." Callahan vanished the crate.

Ultimately, borrowing from Lupin's teaching methods of the past, they brought in a boggart. With Callahan standing closest to the boggart, the creature transformed into Callahan's greatest fear, which was apparently a mummy. Harry, still somewhat squeamish at casting the Cruciatus Curse, cast the spell at the mummy. At first, the spell was weak, causing the mummy merely to twitch and turn. But, by the end of the lesson, Harry's curse was strong enough to cause the mummy to completely unroll its bandages.

"Let's call it a day," said Scrimgeour, after Harry had cast a satisfactory Cruciatus Curse for the tenth time. At these words, Callahan banished the boggart with the Riddikulus charm. Harry's shoulders slumped in exhaustion. He felt Scrimgeour's hand on his shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. He looked up at Scrimgeour in surprise. It was very unusual for the Minister to touch him. "You did amazingly well today, Harry." Harry felt a strong thrill of pleasure at the praise, which he angrily attributed to the Obedius Curse. Angry or not, Harry's body responded to the praise and a bubbly feeling of joy coursed throughout him.

"You've exceeded our wildest expectations. Get plenty of rest tonight. Tomorrow, it's the Avada Kedavra."

Harry gulped and nodded.

Unfortunately, the Killing Curse was not as easy to master as the other Unforgivable Curses. Scrimgeour told Harry that he intended to bring in an Inferi for Harry to practice upon. Since Inferi were already dead, the Avada Kedavra wouldn't actually kill them – but the curse acted to stun them and it was the only spell capable of stopping an Inferi other than fire.

However, there was no point bringing an Inferi to the chamber until Harry could cast the spell. And, he was simply unable to do so. Harry repeated Avada Kedavra over and over again. But, no magic power pulsed through his wand. While Harry knew that he needed to learn this curse, part of him was relieved that it didn't seem that he would be able to perform this spell. He would just have to defeat Voldemort another way.

Harry's failure was an enormous setback for Scrimgeour and he didn't bother to hide how upset he was. After an entire day wasted with Harry failing to perform even the basics of the curse, he called for a number of his most experienced Aurors to meet in the training room. The Aurors were standing in a line, reminding Harry of an army roll call. Scrimgeour walked up and down the line of Aurors and demanded angrily, "What's wrong? Why can't he even cast the spell?"

One of the Aurors, a woman named Charis Felson, hesitantly ventured a guess. "Sir. I have a theory…"

"Let's hear it!" barked Scrimgeour.

"We've discussed before how Harry has a hero complex…" Harry flushed. It was bad enough having everyone talking about him as if he weren't there. But this! It was incredibly embarrassing! Felson continued. "Maybe Harry's very nature is rebelling against using the Killing Curse. At heart, he wants to save people, not kill them."

Scrimgeour was silent as he considered this. "Does this mean he can't learn the Killing Curse?" He answered himself, saying furiously, "He must! He must!"

Felson spoke again. "If I may, sir?" Scrimgeour nodded. "Perhaps Harry would be able to perform the Killing Curse if the need to save someone overrode his natural repulsion to kill."

"What do you mean?"

"Have Harry use the Killing Curse in order to protect someone."

"Brilliant!"

Harry interjected sarcastically. "May I say something, please?"

Scrimgeour seemed almost surprised to see Harry was in the room. He recovered quickly. "Of course, Harry. What do you want to say?"

"Well, this theory is just that – a theory! What if I can't perform the Avada Kedavra? The person I'd be trying to save would die!"

There was silence in the room as everyone stared at Harry, waiting for him to understand. When no one contradicted him, Harry gasped and took a step backward. "Are you all crazy! No way, no how, are we testing this theory! I am NOT, repeat NOT, doing this! I mean it!"

Scrimgeour stepped closer to Harry. "I say we sleep on it, shall we? I'm sure we'll work something out. In the meantime, Harry, I don't want you to worry."

Harry looked at Scrimgeour suspiciously, but let the topic drop.

When a few days passed without its being mentioned again, Harry relaxed, assuming that Scrimgeour had given up teaching Harry the Killing Curse. Later, Harry told himself bitterly that he should have realized that Scrimgeour was too ruthless not to proceed with his plans.

One day, Harry entered the training chamber and was shocked to see Susan Bones there with Scrimgeour, waiting. "Harry," Susan greeted him, happily. "It's great to see you. How are you doing?"

"Susan," Harry said in surprise. "Hello! I'm fine. What are you doing here?" He look back and forward between Scrimgeour and Susan, puzzled.

"My family has become close friends with Madam Marchbanks, ever since she took over as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after my aunt was murdered. I was visiting the Department of Magic yesterday and Minister Scrimgeour bumped into me."

Scrimgeour continued. "I knew Susan was a friend of yours from school, Harry, and I thought you'd like to meet her. She understands why you are here and she knows how important it is for you to defeat You Know Who."

"Yes, Harry," agreed Susan, her face hardening. "He can't get away with killing people -- my aunt and so many others. I told the Minister I'd be honored to do my part to help your training."

All at once, Harry understood. Scrimgeour was thinking of using Susan in the experiment they had been discussing a few days ago. Harry was appalled. "Susan, I don't know what the Minister has told you but I don't want you involved in my training in any way. It's extremely dangerous."

But, Harry was mistaken in believing Scrimgeour hadn't discussed the risks with Susan. She said, "Harry, Minister Scrimgeour already told me. I know that you have to learn to cast the Killing Curse or I will be killed by an Inferi." Harry was shocked by how blunt Susan was. But, her eyes gleamed with the light of a martyr. "We must all be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in our battle with You Know Who. I am honored to be able to help the cause. But, I have faith in you, Harry. You won't let me die." Her utter conviction terrified Harry.

She was going to let herself be used as bait because she had faith in Harry! But, he couldn't cast the spell. She would die! "Susan, please! I haven't been able to conjure the Killing Curse at all. There's no way I'm going to let you risk your life."

She smiled serenely. "I've already decided."

"Enough," said Scrimgeour. "Talking about this is only stressing you unnecessarily, Harry." Turning to Susan, Scrimgeour waved his wand, murmuring "Orpheo". Scrimgeour caught Susan before she fell to the ground, asleep, and placed her carefully on the floor. Harry was speechless. Everything was happening so quickly, he felt that his head was in a whirl.

"Harry. I will be leaving this room. The wall has been enchanted so that I can see in. I will be with a number of the Aurors, watching. We will release the Inferi. It has been charmed so that it cannot be stopped by fire and we have placed a ward around the room so that you cannot banish it. Only the Avada Kedavra curse will stop it." Scrimgeour waved his wand in a circle around Harry. "You cannot move from this circle. So, you cannot physically interfere with the Inferi or protect Susan by throwing yourself in front of her. You must cast the curse if you are to save her." Scrimgeour turned to leave.

"Please, don't do this! Don't go! I'm begging you! Please!" Harry felt tears streaming down his face. But, Scrimgeour closed the door behind him with a click and Harry's blood turned cold. He was as frightened as he could ever remember being.

In just a few minutes (but which seemed a lifetime to Harry), the door reopened and an Inferi appeared. It was ghastly. In life, a large man, it was now missing most of its flesh – half skeleton, half rotting corpse. It made a beeline for Susan. Harry shouted wildly to attract its attention but the Inferi ignored him.

Harry pointed his wand, screaming "Avada Kedavra" repeatedly, but nothing happened. In desperation, Harry threw himself at the barrier Scrimgeour had set around him, but he couldn't push through.

Harry yelled as loudly as he could. "Help! Help! Someone!" The Inferi had reached Susan's limp body and knelt beside it. "Stop!" screamed Harry. "Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!" Nothing.

Suddenly, the Inferi grabbed Susan's arm and bit into it, eating. Harry thought that, for as long as he lived, he would never hear a sound as awful as that crunching noise. Harry's yell of "No" seemed to come from the very depths of his body. He felt something tear inside, as if his very soul was ripping. Reaching deep inside the well of anguish, horror, fear and hate, Harry shouted again, "Avada Kedavra!"

A green light burst from his wand, filling the room with light and hitting the Inferi. Thecreature dropped Susan's arm and keeled over.

Harry fell to his knees, sobbing wildly and shaking like a leaf. His wand dropped from his fingers and fell to his side. The door burst open and Scrimgeour and the Aurors rushed in. Immediately, some bent over Susan, performing healing magic. Lifting the wards, one Auror vanished the fallen Inferi. A white-faced Scrimgeour and a few Aurors knelt by Harry.

Scrimgeour rubbed his hand down Harry's back to soothe him. "It's over, Harry. It's over. It's all right. Susan is all right. You did it, Harry. You did it."

But Harry didn't respond. He just sat down on the floor, grabbing his knees and started rocking. A low moan rose from his throat.

Scrimgeour looked up at Timbrid. "Get a calming draught." Timbrid returned almost immediately with the potion. Scrimgeour held it to Harry's mouth. "Drink this, Harry. It will make you feel better."

Harry didn't acknowledge him. "He's in shock," said Timbrid.

"Enervate," said Scrimgeour. Still crouching on the floor, Harry's eyes slowly fixed on Scrimgeour, but they held no expression. "Drink," Scrimgeour ordered.

Automatically, Harry drank. As the potion took effect, his body shuddered. He sank to the floor. Scrimgeour gently smoothed his hair away from his forehead. "Poor boy," he whispered. Timbrid looked at Scrimgeour in surprise. It was the first time Timbrid had ever seen the Minister treat Harry with concern.

Scrimgeour waved his wand and, levitating Harry, floated him to his bedroom where he lay him gently on the bed to rest. "Good night, Harry," Scrimgeour murmured.

Harry stayed in bed two days, staring listlessly at the walls of the room. All of his energy seemed to be drained. At night, he had horrible nightmares of Inferi chewing on his friends and was afraid to close his eyes. He knew that the mirror watched him at night and reported back to Scrimgeour. So, Harry was not too surprised to find that,by the second night,Scrimgeour sent him a potion for dreamless sleep. Harry was so exhausted, he gulped the drink down without argument.

The next day, Scrimgeour visited Harry in his bedroom. "You'll be happy to learn that Susan Bones is completely healed, Harry." Harry didn't respond. Abruptly, Scrimgeour said, "I am sorry, Harry. I know that what we did was … difficult for you…"

"Difficult!" Harry interrupted, incensed. "It was evil! How are you any different from Voldemort?"

"I am willing to do almost anything to achieve my ends, Harry, that is true. In this way, perhaps I am a bit like You Know Who. But, my ends themselves are nothing like his. I am interested only in protecting the greater good."

"Hah! You'll do anything for the power of your office!"

"No, Harry. That's not true. I don't even want to be Minister." He smiled at Harry's look of disbelief. "I only took this post at the urging of the Wizengamot. We all knew that we needed a skilled soldier to lead us in our battle against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I took this appointment because I know that I can lead us to victory – victory at any cost, Harry. But, I am truly sorry that you seem to be the one to have to pay that cost."

Harry maintained an aggrieved silence. After a moment, Scrimgeour said, "It's time to get out of bed, now, Harry. You have a lot of practice ahead of you and we cannot spare you any more time to recuperate from your ordeal."

Reluctantly, Harry climbed out of bed. "What now?" he asked, worried.

Scrimgeour looked surprised. "Why, you'll be practicing the Avada Kedavra, of course."

Harry stopped in his tracks. His eyes took on a haunted expression. "I don't want to," he whispered.

In a kind voice, Scrimgeour said, "I know, Harry. I'm sorry. But, it will get easier over time. You have now done it once. By the end of the day, you will have done it a dozen more times. By the end of the week, a hundred times. By the end of the month, a thousand times. Somewhere in that number, it will get easier. Now, go get dressed."


	8. Chapter 8 Blood Ties

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

**AN - I know this chapter is short. But, I thought it deserved its own chapter anyway. Again, thank you to my reviewers. I love reading your comments.**

Chapter Eight – Blood Ties

The day that Harry marked as one of the most important of his stay at the Department of Magic started innocently enough. Harry was training as usual. He couldn't have even told you what day it was. They all blended together. Seven days a week, the routine rarely varied. As much as Harry got a sick feeling anytime he thought about actually facing Voldemort again, a little voice in the back of his head whispered that at least this endless training would be over.

During lunch, Harry took an apple and started peeling the skin. The knife slipped and he cut himself slightly. He stared for a minute at the little drop of blood pooling at the tip of his finger before he waved his wand and healed the wound.

The Auror, Carl Alesym, with whom Harry was having lunch didn't engage in any small talk, so Harry spent lunchtime lazily thinking about blood. At first, he thought how odd it was that the blood tie between his mother and her sister had protected himself against Voldemort all the years that he was staying with the Dursleys. After all, Aunt Petunia never loved him as an aunt should.

Then, Harry thought how strange it was that his blood now ran through Voldemort. He gave a little shudder at the thought and the Auror looked up from his plate to glance at Harry quizzically. "Just a chill," Harry explained and the older man went back to contemplating his lunch.

"You would think that Voldemort wouldn't want my blood running through his veins," Harry thought to himself. "I know that I don't want Voldemort's blood running through me! I hate the thought that we're connected in this way." And then, Harry ran that thought back through his brain. "Connected. We're connected through blood. Voldemort and I are connected through blood. Just like my mother and Aunt Petunia were connected through blood – even though there was no love lost between them. Dumbledore said this was old magic."

And then, Harry recalled the strange flash of triumph he thought he had seen in Dumbledore's eyes when Harry had told him that Voldemort had used Harry's blood to be reborn. Another chill ran through Harry and he shivered again. This time, when the Auror looked up at him, Harry said slowly, "You know, Mr. Alesym, I'm not feeling very well. I think I'm getting chills. I really think I should take it easy for the rest of the day."

"Harry, unless you're feeling really sick, I think we'll stick to the schedule."

Harry felt a flush of annoyance. He'd been working his tail off for months now; you'd think they'd give him a break! "I really don't feel well," Harry said firmly. "Tell you what. How about I spend the day reading? That way, I'm not wasting my time, but it's not as physically tiring."

The Auror was skeptical. Harry pressed, "Please. Just stick me in the library. You don't want me to become really sick, do you?"

Finally, the Auror nodded. When Militer arrived after lunch was over, to monitor that Harry was on schedule with his lessons, Mr. Alesym told him that he had agreed that Harry could spend the rest of the day in the library, rather than taking practical lessons.

So it was that Harry was able to spend the day looking through some of the books in the Department of Magic library. He was lucky that it turned out that the day was a Saturday, and the library wasn't in use. If it had been a weekday, the library would have been open to other members of the Department of Magic and Harry would not been allowed to use the library.

After about an hour of searching, but pretending that he was not looking for anything specific, Harry spotted a very old book with the label "Blood Ties". He nonchalantly pulled it from the shelf and settled into a nearby armchair to read. The hours passed and nothing in the book seemed helpful at all. Just as Harry was about to close the book in frustration, he came to a short passage that made the blood rush in his ears, causing him to feel almost lightheaded. He read:

_The first recorded murder among muggles was that of fratricide – a brother murdering his brother. (This is the origin of the story of Cain and Abel.) Murder among brothers in the wizarding world is almost unheard of, on the other hand. By using the ancient Consagratus Charm, which calls upon the ties of blood, any harmful spell cast by a wizard against his relative would rebound upon that wizard. In this way, family members were forced to behave in a civilized manner at family affairs._

Harry murmured under his breath, "The Consagratus Charm." Unfortunately, although Harry looked through the book, he was not able to find any mention of how to perform the charm. While he spent a few more hours looking through books, he didn't find any further mention of the charm.

Harry wondered whether he should mention this charm to Scrimgeour or any of his tutors. However, after thinking about it for a while,the teenagerdecided not to discuss this with anyone. Dumbledore had wanted Harry to keep the information about the horcruxes secret and Harry suspected that Dumbledore would have the same advice about the charm.

Later that afternoon, Harry paid for his lie about feeling ill, when Scrimgeour was informed that Harry had been feeling poorly. The teenager had to submit to a complete physical from a healer brought in from St. Mungo's, who was then obliviated so as not to remember that he had seen Harry. As he choked down a tonic prescribed by the healer, Harry wondered why all medicine had to taste so revolting.

Sent to bed directly after dinner, Harry spent a bit longer in his bathroom, the only place where he was not under the eyes of the Ministry. He took out his wand and softly whispered "Consagratus". Nothing. Oh, no! thought Harry. What if the actual incantation was not so evident from the name of the charm? But Harry did not have to worry about this overlong. His second attempt, "Consagrato," resulted in a deep purple mist issuing from his wand and surrounding him.

"Wow!" Harry breathed. Excitement raced through him and wished desperately that he could tell Ron and Hermione what had happened. With a smile, he imagined what the two would say. Ron would be wide-eyed and probably say something profound, like "Cool!" Hermione, on the other hand, would caution that he had no way of knowing whether this charm would actually work to repel a curse thrown at him by Voldemort.

While Harry knew that the only way to know whether this charm was effective would be in actual battle, he couldn't help but feel a surge of confidence at knowing that he had a hidden weapon available to him. Harry practiced the charm for a few more minutes. He would have liked to have practiced longer but he felt that any further time spent in the bathroom would call unwelcome attention to himself. Reluctantly, he ceased practicing and went to bed.


	9. Chapter 9 The Final Battle

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Harry Potter. I am content to worship at the altar._

Author's Note: I have made just a few corrections to this chapter to clarify some questions raised by the reviewers. I explain these changes at the end.

Chapter Nine – The Final Battle

Harry knew that it was Halloween because one of the Aurors had thoughtfully decorated the training room with pumpkins and candles. Harry appreciated the attempt to bring a little bit of holiday cheer into the room. Morosely, he thought about the Halloween celebration that would be occurring at Hogwarts. He knew that Ron and Hermione had gone back to school since there was nothing further they could do to help in the battle against Voldemort for the time being. Harry thought of Ginny and couldn't help but wonder jealously whether she would be attending the feast with anyone special. He knew that it was unfair for him to want her to remain faithful to him, since he didn't know how long they would be separated. But, if he were honest with himself, he knew that he hoped that she was pining for him.

Suddenly, the door of the training room flung open and hit the other side of the wall with a bang. Harry and the Auror training him immediately assumed fighting positions. However, they lowered their wands when they saw it was Scrimgeour, followed by two other Aurors.

Scrimgeour was pale and hard-eyed. He jaw was clenched and he stared fiercely at Harry. Before Harry could ask what had happened, Scrimgeour said, "You Know Who's going to attack Hogwarts today. We have inside information that he's going to try to take over the school."

Harry felt his world turn upside down. Ginny! Ron and Hermione! Hagrid! All his friends and teachers!

"No!" Harry said. "We've got to stop him!"

"That's exactly what we plan to do, Harry. But, our informant has told us that You Know Who has weakened the wards protecting the school. If that's true, there is almost no way we can prevent him from entering the school. We can only hope to move the students into one area of the school and hold him off from there."

"Who told you this?" asked Harry. "How could Voldemort have weakened the wards?"

Scrimgeour looked at Harry seriously for a moment and then, coming to a decision, said, "Severus Snape told us, Harry."

Harry took a step backward in shock. "Snape! And you believe that traitor!"

"Yes, Harry, I do. I haven't told you this but for the last number of months Snape has been feeding us information about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. When he first approached us, we didn't believe him, of course, and we were prepared to throw him in Azkaban. But, you know Dumbledore trusted him and Snape produced a letter written by Dumbledore explaining how he had bound Snape to him in an Unbreakable Vow, forcing Snape to kill him rather than allow Draco Malfoy or another Death Eater to do it if Dumbledore were cornered. In this way, Snape was able to remain a spy within You Know Who's camp."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe it! He forged the letter!"

Scrimgeour said impatiently, "Harry, don't you think we thought of that! We tested the letter of course. Snape also submitted to Veritaserum."

"Veritaserum can be tricked!"

"That may be so. But, Snape has been incredibly helpful in this war. He has told us You Know Who's plans and has prevented many deaths. I think he can be trusted. And, right now, we have no choice but to act on this information. Would you prefer we assume that You Know Who is not going to attack Hogwarts?"

Harry shook his head and said nothing. "We have Aurors surrounding the school. Most will arrive at Hogsmeade and approach the school from that direction; we'll arrive directly inside the school." Without further discussion, Scrimgeour left the room, with Harry and the Aurors trailing behind. They quickly went to Scrimgeour's office where they used the fireplace to travel to Headmistress McGonagall's office.

No one was in the office, but the portraits on the wall were wide awake. Harry eyes automatically sought out Dumbledore's portrait and, without consciously meaning to do so, he found himself standing beneath the portrait. Dumbledore smiled kindly down upon Harry, but his eyes were serious. "Good luck, Harry. I believe that tonight is the end of the long battle between you and Voldemort. There was a lot of noise in the school before and I believe that Voldemort and his followers have already attacked, and perhaps taken over the school." Harry heard Scrimgeour swear in the background. "I have confidence in you, Harry. You will rid this world of the Darkness which seeks to gain control. Be strong, Harry."

Harry gave a small nod. He couldn't speak over the lump in his throat.

Scrimgeour, the three Aurors, and Harry descended the spiral staircase from McGonagall's office to the hallway. The silence was eerie. No one was in the hallways. Slowly, they approached the Great Hall. At their approach, the door opened and they saw a ghost waiting for them in the middle of the hall. It was the Bloody Baron. They approached the Baron slowly.

"I've been asked to give you a message," said the Baron. His gloomy voice and bloody appearance caused Harry's nerves to stretch even further. "The Dark Lord is now in command of this school. All students and teachers have been brought to the Quidditch stadium for the games to begin. The Dark Lord will kill all mudbloods and blood traitors at the stroke of midnight. However, before he begins, he wishes to take care of unfinished business."

At this, Harry heard "Expelliarmus" coming from behind him and his wand flew out of his hand. While he, Scrimgeour and the others had been listening to the Bloody Baron, Death Eaters had silently entered the room. At least thirty Death Eaters surrounded them. They were vastly out numbered. Delighted laughter filled the room, as Harry and the others were put into body binds.

Bellatrix Lestrange crossed the room and looked Harry in the eyes. "Stupid boy! We knew you had entered the castle the moment you stepped into the hall leading from the headmaster's office. Did you think that you could sneak up on the Dark Lord? He knows all! Are you ready to meet your death, Potter? You are the unfinished business that the Dark Lord intends to take care of tonight. All the world will see that you are a mere child, and the Dark Lord will reign supreme!"

Harry couldn't respond. He was completely powerless. He was furious with himself. "So much for all my training!" he thought. He hadn't been in Hogwarts ten minutes before being caught. It was no consolation to know that Scrimgeour and the Aurors had been captured as well.

In a triumphant procession, the Death Eaters led Harry, Scrimgeour and the three Aurors to the stadium. Harry wondered whether the other Aurors that Scrimgeour said were coming to protect the school would be able to arrive in time. Almost as if she had read his mind, Bellatrix purred, "You don't need to worry about anyone else crashing this party, Potter. The Dark Lord has reinforced the wards around the school now that you have arrived. No one else can enter."

Harry was pushed into the center of the stadium and the body bind released. He fell to his knees but quickly scrambled to stand up. He looked around and saw that the stands were filled with students and teachers. Many were crying or clinging to each other. Fearful eyes stared at him. Off in one corner, Harry noticed what looked like a large cage. Inside, he saw about fifty students. "Harry!" Clinging to the bars of the cage were Hermione, Ron and Ginny.

Standing behind them, looking a bit battered, Harry was shocked to see Snape and Draco in the cage as well. Blood was dripping from Snape's mouth and his ever-present sneer was not quite up to its usual level of nastiness. Both Snape and Draco gazed defiantly at Harry, as if daring him to question their presence. Ever since he had been captured by the Death Eaters, Harry had been wondering whether Snape had set a trap to lure Scrimgeour, Harry and the others to Hogwarts. Obviously, that was not the case. After all the years of distrusting him, it was hard to finally accept that Snape really was working against Voldemort.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. Welcome!" Because he had been staring at the cage, Harry had not noticed that Voldemort was sitting at one end of the stadium in a large, throne-like chair. Harry could see Nagini curled up at its base. A number of Death Eaters flanked the chair.Gracefully, Voldemort stood up and approached Harry. With a careless wave of his hand, he indicated the cage and said, in a silky voice, "Do you see your friends, Harry? I thought to have you watch them die. But, I find that I am impatient to kill you. It is pleasing enough to watch you die with the knowledge that your friends will follow shortly after."

Harry felt fury rise inside him like a huge wave. There was no room for fear. As before, when he battled with Voldemort in the cemetery after Voldemort's rebirth, Harry's fury gave him strength. "Bold words, Tom," he goaded. "But, you haven't been able to kill me yet. I was born to kill you and, tonight, I've had enough of you!"

Anger blazed through Voldemort's eyes. He raised his wand and yelled, "Crucio!" Harry screamed and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Voldemort raised his wand and Harry shakily rose to his feet. Dimly, in the background, he could hear screams from people in the stands and in the cage.

Voldemort smiled. "Harry, Harry. When will you ever learn?"

Turning slightly, Voldemort noticed Scrimgeour. "Ah, Minister. Are you proud of your protégé? I am aware that you have been training Mr. Potter, here, in the fine art of war. I do believe that your lessons have not had much of an effect."

Laughing his high, cold laugh, Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse at the Minister. Scrimgeour fell to the ground, yelling and twitching.

Harry yelled, "Leave him alone! Your fight is with me. You are just trying to delay the moment when you and I face each other again. Coward!"

Gasps from the crowd. A number of the Death Eaters took a step toward Harry, obviously planning to punish him but stopped when they remembered that Voldemort wished to deal with Harry personally.

Voldemort lifted the Cruciatus Curse on Scrimgeour and slowly turned back to face Harry. His eyes, red and glittering, held an almost shocked expression. Behind him, Scrimgeour stood up again and one of the many Death Eaters pulled him to stand off to the side of the stadium.

"You dare?" Voldemort hissed. Turning to Bellatrix, he spat, "Give him back his wand."

Bellatrix approached and, with a look of hate on her face, pushed the wand into Harry's hand. He clutched it tightly. He knew what would follow.

"You remember, Harry. We've dueled before. But, now there is no mother to save you. No portkey to whisk you away. Tonight, everyone will see how easily I will defeat you." Many of the Death Eaters cheered and called for Voldemort to torture Harry first.

Harry burst out. "You're brave with all of your Death Eaters behind you, Tom. Even if I beat you, they'll kill me."

Voldemort considered. "I'll tell you what, Harry. To show you that this is a fair fight, I'll cast a spell that binds my Death Eaters in the event that I am defeated." He murmured some words as he drew his wand in the air. He laughed derisively to show how ridiculous it would be to imagine that Harry could ever win. "And, to show how little I fear you, I will let you cast the first curse. See?" Voldemort smirked as he drew his wand upwards to point to the sky.

Harry's eyes narrowed. But he didn't hesitate. Taking advantage of Voldemort's offer, he quickly lowered his own wand and, pointing it directly at the object of his magic, he yelled, "Avada Kedavra!" Simultaneously, Voldemort apparated a few feet from where he had been standing. The curse, had it been directed at Voldemort, would have missed him entirely. However, Harry had not cast the curse at the Dark Lord. Surprised, Voldemort turned, looking to see where Harry had cast his spell.

"No!" Voldemort howled. Nagini lay dead. Wild-eyed, Voldemort turned to Harry. "Why! Why!"

Harry smiled, since he knew it would annoy Voldemort. "That's six, Tom! I've got them all!"

Voldemort whispered, with a hint of fear coloring his voice for the first time. "What do you mean?"

"I know all about your horcruxes, Tom. And, I've destroyed all of them!"

Voldemort's shock was apparent. He stared at Harry for a moment without speaking. Then, slowly, he said, "I can always make more, Harry. In fact, I'll use your death to start again. But, maybe I've been too hasty."

He moved a few steps closer to Harry. His voice took on a cajoling note. "Join me, Harry. Together, there is nothing we couldn't do. We will rule the world!"

Harry heard gasps of disbelief from the crowd. The Death Eaters were equally stunned. Bellatrix burst out, "Master!"

Voldemort waved a dismissive hand in her direction. "Hush, Bellatrix." He did not even look at her, but continued to stare intently at Harry. "Mr. Potter has shown himself to be a worthy adversary. I believe that I can take advantage of that. I could use a disciple. No one would be closer to me than you, Harry. Join me!"

Harry smirked. "I know why you're making the offer. You're scared, Tom. Because this time when I kill you, you'll stay dead! When people say You Know Who, it'll be because they've forgotten your name!"

Finally, his words struck a nerve and Harry had successfully goaded Voldemort to action. Voldemort roared with anger and, hesitating no longer, yelled "Avada Kedavra!" pointing his wand at Harry. A beam of green light flew toward the teenager.

Before Voldemort had completed the curse, however, Harry had shouted "Consagrato!" The beam of green light from Voldemort's wand met the purple mist surrounding Harry.

For a minute, the mist turned bright white and Harry felt as if he were being squeezed tightly. Suddenly, the mist disappeared and Harry fell to the ground as his legs were too shaky to support him. He watched as the beam of green light flew backward toward Voldemort hitting him directly in the chest. A look utter surprise on his face, he fell backward. Dead.

With Voldemort's death, the spell he had cast to bind the Death Eaters took effect. Harry breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He hadn't known whether Voldemort had actually cast the spell as he had promised. But, Voldemort had been so sure that he would win, he had indeed cast the spell placing the Death Eaters in body binds upon his defeat.

There was silence in the stadium as everyone watched in amazement at the scene playing out in front of their eyes. Slowly, Harry pushed himself up and stumbled over to Voldemort's body. Voldemort's eyes gazed unseeingly up into the sky. Harry bent down to scoop up Voldemort's wand which was lying on the ground close to the fallen wizard.

Lifting his eyes to the people in the stand, the students, teachers, stunned Death Eaters, Scrimgeour and the Aurors with him, Harry turned slowly around holding the wand high. Without a word, he raised his other hand and, above his head so that all could see clearly, broke the wand in half.

As if the snap of the wand was a cue, shouts of delight rang from the stand. "He's dead! He's dead! Potter killed him!"

No longer bound by the Death Eaters, who were still unable to move, Scrimgeour approached the dead body. He stared down at the fallen Voldemort and then raised his eyes, swimming with tears, to Harry. The Minister smiled but did not seem capable of saying a word.

"Harry, Harry!" Harry turned to see his friends running to him. The cage had sprung open with Voldemort's death and Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sprinting to reach him. Harry grabbed Ginny when she slammed into him and kissed her. Around him, he could feel Ron and Hermione pounding on his back. "You did it! You did it!"

The wards that Voldemort had put around the school had fallen, and Aurors began pouring into the stadium. Harry was vaguely aware that they were rounding up the Death Eaters. It was over! Hugging Ginny tightly to him, he said, "Can we go home, now?"

She nodded. Harry lifted his head and said to Ron and Hermione. "I'll see you at the Burrow, later." Turning to Scrimgeour, Harry saw that the Minister was watching him. Scrimgeour's eyes burned with a fierce light and Harry acknowledged the unspoken message he saw there with an inclination of his head. Then, Harry said dryly, "I guess I'll be seeing you around. But, I think I'm done with training." Scrimgeour smiled slightly and nodded. With this, Harry felt a strange tingling sensation as the Obedius Charm lifted. It felt a bit strange not to feel the effects of the charm which had been his constant companion for the last three months.

The noise from the crowd became louder and louder. Fireworks lit the night sky. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry was sure that he saw Rita Skeeter making her way toward him. She certainly knew how to find a story! He knew that he would have to face the joy of the wizarding world soon. He was, after all, The-Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, and now the Boy-Who-Defeated-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. What a mouthful, he thought with an inward grin.

For now, though, he wanted to find a quiet spot and enjoy some time alone with the girl he loved. He deserved it. Holding Ginny tightly, the two apparated away.

The End –

Author's Note: If you read the previous version of this chapter, you will notice that I clarified that the Obedius Charm was lifted once Scrimgeour confirms that Harry's training is over. Also, as telly1 correctly pointed out (thank you!), a protego charm would not have stopped the Avada Kedavra. Can't believe I missed that! I made a simple change to how Voldemort would have otherwise escaped that spell, if Harry had cast it against him. In case anyone is wondering why Voldemort can apparate within the grounds, remember that he had lifted all the wards protecting the school. While he had reinstated them to prevent the Aurors from entering, I think Voldemort would make sure that he would continue to have free access in and out of the grounds.

Hope that answers most questions. Thank you again to everyone who has read this story, and especially to all the reviewers.


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